






IwP 

n 

; &]■ 


■ 


{^l*n9K|| 




















Class "~P2 y 
Book . S ^ ^ ^ 
Copyright >1? .Te^ 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 




0 

1 

, ▼ 


N I 
* .* I 



r% 

t 


f 




I 


/ 


\ 


r . 

. * - 
I ' 
' > 


.1 


« 



% 


\ 



V 


JEAN CABOT 
IN CAP AND GOWN 


Cl^e 31ean Cabot 'BOO 60 

BY 

GERTRUDE FISHER SCOTT 


Cloth. Illustrated. Price Net $1,00 each 
Postpaid $1.10 


Jean Cabot at Ashton 

Jean Cabot in the British Isles 

Jean Cabot in Cap and Gown 

LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO. 

BOSTON 



t 








I 


I % 



* I 


t I 


i 


4 






H 





* 


« 




I 


» 







. 1 ^/ 





% 



* •• 


i 


I 






9 


% 



0 


\ , 


» • 

# 


I • • 

I 





\ 



I 

f 






t 


■ 4 



y 




't 

! 




) 

. • • r 

♦ 

« 

• I 

I • ^ 

J 


V 




1 


4 

J 

I 

4 

f 


I 


I 


% 


« f 


» 



|| 

\ 

I 4 




I 


4 

I 




4 

k 




I 

t 


I 


t 




I 

t* W 

I 

4 1 • • «4 


4 


I 

.4 > 


4 




* 


♦ 

^ % 




I 


S M 


9 ^ J 


% 


I 


t 

a 


« ^ 4 * 


t 



^ 4 ^ 


4 



f 

* 




At the unmasking Jean found in the person of Phoebe B. a 
MOST attractive GIRD. — Page 23. 


JEAN CABOT IN 
CAP AND GOWN 


BY 

GERTRUDE FISHER SCOTT 

1/ 


ILLUSTRATED BY ARTHUR O. SCOTT 



BOSTON 

LOTHPvOR LEE dr SHEPARD CO. 


PUBLISHED. AUGUST, 1014 



Copyright, 1914, by Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Co. 


All Rights Reserved 


JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


AUG 251914 

IRorwooO press 

Berwick & Smith Co. 
Norwood, Mass., U. S. A. 

©CI.A880097 

'%€/ 


Contents 


CHAPTER PAGE 

I. Getting Back i 

II. The Gamma Chi “Hoodang” .... 15 

III. “ Meeting Emergencies ” 34 

IV. Polly Thompson’s Tea 52 

V. Anne Cockran’s Contribution to the 

“ Circle,” and Its Results .... 75 

VI. Callers loi 

VII. The Substitute Teacher 116 

VIII. The Rest of the Vacation, and the 

Junior Surprise 148 

IX. Junior Day 171 

X. The Senior Dance ....... 184 

XI. Anne’s Auction 206 

XII. May Days 228 

XIII. The Beginning of the End 262 

XIV. The End of It All 294 





l « * I 


•»'V **' • 

' % 

mm: 


r \ 


'■;. "'K'V’^ ^Vv 


^' .' I "• ' > * 

4 'A • ''j« *Ki wm 1 a 


•1 


. ’ I 



{. 



.i .\ 


. ’i 

■ * V ' 

' la . ' 


>• 


• I 


•^i>- * • 

I ‘ i ' . « 



B . ' 

\JM 

i 

VV‘!,V 

■J iv4‘ 

\‘.'i 

' i 

' ■» ' i ‘ 



» ' 


• * 


* 1 




>-- .* ' ' i* • ^ / ' ' - . jtj ♦. • 

te(.-' '-' v: ' ^ " :-, ■; -•- , . *>■''■'. '• 



/ ♦ 

?’■ 

t’ 


"*^' b jUrr/' .b it; 


•» I ;/♦'• 
- > ■■ 

.. ■ V 


V 

•■1 

< 


MgSebfe®" “ ^ 7 . ; 


II I ' ^ > 1 V 



f-' „ 1 Peb; 

H ii" vfcV 


r 


IT 


?tv 


"1 



MW 



I 


'* • « 
1 


I 


I * 

\ 




r 


i 


V> V' • 


I ' I 



W'^'- mi 

rr-;* S. 

?'fa' ,'■ ■ - . . - 

ll ".; * - 


4 

r 

I 

1 1 

/ 


J 


t . • 

I i ' » • 

I * i 



*. / 

•t » 


C ‘ i 

i 




>, 4. 


A ' .' .. . 


/ 


'' '•] - ■ ■ ‘Z' . 

' ' ^ ^ r 


» l» L 

■ Vr'%- 


• V/' V'’ t' 

> ' f * A ; • 


WMM^ j< , JEttP /II * 




^ tMd \ 








Illustrations 


At the unmasking Jean found in the person of 
Phoebe B. a most attractive girl (Page 23) 

Frontispiece 

FACING PAGE 

“IVe suffered, Jean, more than you know any- 
thing about’' 96 1/^ 

Jean seated herself on the tray and asked Bob 
to give her a vigorous push 158 

Polly shrank back still farther against the cur- 
tain 182 

“How much am I offered for this art museum 
treasure? Start it high” 224 

She had never been more beautiful than when 
she walked down the stairs to greet Bob 
and Dick 292 ^ 




/ 



Jean Cabot in Cap and 
Gown 

CHAPTER I 

GETTING BACK 

H, Anne, do please hand me that 
% M picture on the couch. It seems as 
though I never should get them all 
hung up. Thank goodness, this is the last 
room, and by ten o’clock to-night things will 
be in fairly good condition. We have hustled 
some in these three days, though, haven’t 
we?” 

“ Well, Jean, I should say we had; and I’m 
just about ready to drop to the ground. I 
know I’ve never worked so hard before in all 
my life. But I won’t complain as long as 
it’s for Gamma Chi,” and Anne Cockran’s 
squeaky little voice switched off into, 

“Here’s to Gamma Chi, Gamma Chi, 

Oh, here’s to Gamma Chi, Gamma Chi,” 


2 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


And before she had finished the second line, 
voices from all the adjoining rooms began to 
join the refrain, swelling the chorus to alarm- 
ing proportions. 

There was good reason for this enthusiasm, 
for in June Gamma Chi had obtained permis- 
sion from the faculty to hire a house off the 
campus, and with a housekeeper set up their 
household goods and live together as one big 
family. Of course, freshmen would not be 
invited to join them, so they would not be de- 
prived of dormitory life with its joys and 
sorrows, but the upper-class girls felt that they 
could enjoy life much better together, and still 
be loyal to the college itself ; for college always 
comes first, class second, and society third. 
So they had hired a large, comfortable house 
just off Faculty Row, and most of the girls 
had come back early to help clean house and 
settle the furniture, which had been hastily 
deposited there the last days of the June be- 
fore. About twelve of the girls were to have 
rooms in the house, since a few remained loyal 
to favorite dormitories and certain room- 
mates not in Gamma Chi, and were to be con- 


GETTING BACK 


3 


sidered day roomers with full privileges. 
Mrs. Butterfield, a former matron of Welling- 
ton Hall, had consented to keep house for the 
girls, and being both experienced and moth- 
erly, satisfied the faculty, who at first had 
looked a little askance at the idea. 

Just as the girls had sung the stanza through 
for about the tenth time, the front door opened 
and shut with a bang, and Bess Johnson called 
out : “ Oh, girls, I^m so glad to see you ! 

Excuse my being late, but really I couldn't get 
here a minute sooner. You see. Dad — " 

‘‘ Oh, never mind, Bess," said Anne Cock- 
ran, ‘‘we know all your excuses by heart. 
Just get your things off and help us finish this 
living-room. We’re worn to a frazzle, and 
we must get everything done to-night." 

“ All right, Anne, but let me get my breath 
first. Why, Jean Cabot, what are you doing, 
perched up on that stepladder? Come down 
here ; I’m crazy to see you. Oh, how I’ve en- 
joyed your letters this summer! With all due 
respect to the other girls, I must say your let- 
ters beat them all. I nearly died laughing 
over your descriptions of that new baby sister 


4 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


of yours, and the boys’ attempts to take care 
of it. I can’t imagine Miss Hooper — beg 
pardon, I mean Mrs. Cabot — with a baby. 
Does she sing and talk to it in algebraic ex- 
pressions and geometry propositions? Per- 
haps she calls it little X. Y. Z. or Q. E. D. for 
short.” 

Oh, no, Bess, but she has named it Mary 
Ashton Cabot to show her devotion to the col- 
lege, and declares it’s coming here in 1932 or 
thereabouts. Where do you suppose we shall 
all be then? Before I forget it, girls, I want 
to deliver a message from Elizabeth. I ran 
up to Olympus for two days before I came 
out here. She sent her love to every one of 
you, and wishes with all her heart that she 
were back here. She means to get down 
sometime during the year, perhaps for initia- 
tion, but she’ll be here, anyway, in June for 
her degree.” 

Wasn’t she the clever girl to do her four 
years’ work in three? I guess she’s the first 
Gamma Chi girl that ever did it. Has she 
begun teaching yet ? ” asked Polly Thompson, 
one of the juniors. 


GETTING BACK 


5 


“Yes, her school began the day after La- 
bor Day. She has to work frightfully hard, 
for there’s only she and the principal to teach 
the whole school. Fortunately there are only 
thirty or forty pupils, but Beth has all the 
Latin and English and everything else that the 
principal can’t teach. I wanted to visit her 
classes, but she begged me not to until next 
time I go up, for they’re only getting started, 
and things are rather mixed up. However, 
everybody says she’s doing splendid work, and 
I know she’ll make a success of it.” 

“ What about that good-looking brother of 
hers, Jean? ” asked Anne. 

“ Oh, he’s going back to Dartmouth this 
week. He’s going to try to follow Beth’s ex- 
ample and finish in three years, but he isn’t 
as strong as Beth, and I don’t believe he can 
do it. Did I tell you that he’s been invited 
to join Theta Delta?” 

“ That’s Mr. Bowker’s fraternity, isn’t it ? ” 
asked Lois Underwood with a smile. 

“ Yes,” said Jean, and immediately changed 
the subject of conversation. “ I’ve decided to 
go in town once or twice a week for my music. 


6 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


so I’m not going to take a very stiff pro- 
gramme this year. I only need sixteen hours 
each semester. I think I’ll try for a second 
honor in French. Wasn’t Mile. Franchant a 
dear to give me one last year! But, then, I 
did work hard for it.” 

‘‘What about the freshmen?” asked Bess. 
“Who knows any of them? Has any one 
looked them up? I’m glad I’m not on the 
rushing committee this year. I got all I 
wanted last year, and worked myself nearly 
to death.” 

“ Only a few have arrived yet ; of course 
those who have exams are plugging away for 
dear life. We’re on the trail of half a dozen 
or so. Perfect dears, all of them. And then 
Nat Lawton’s cousin from town is coming to- 
morrow, and her room-mate at prep, school. 
We ought to get some fine new blood in 
Gamma Chi this year,” and Anne sat down 
on Bess’s suit-case as though thoroughly ex- 
hausted after her day’s work. 

“ Oh, girls ! What’s the date of the ‘ hoo- 
dang ’ ? ” asked Bess Johnson. 

“ The first Monday in October,” said Jean. 


GETTING BACK 


7 , 


And you’re chairman of the committee, 
Bess. You’d better get to work very shortly 
and please don’t leave everything until the last 
minute this time, and drive us distracted for 
fear you won’t get things done. I know, dear, 
you always do things beautifully in spite of 
the fact that we all have nervous prostration 
during the preparations. Now let’s call things 
off for to-night. Come up into my room, and 
have something to eat. As usual I’m nearly 
starved, but Mrs. Fairfax loaded me down 
with good things to eat, and I’ve been so busy 
I haven’t found time to open the box.” 

'‘Just leave that to me, Jean,” said Anne, 
“ I’m starving, too. Has everybody tried on 
her cap and gown? I’m a perfect fright in 
mine. The cap will persist in hanging over 
one ear in spite of everything I can do. I shall 
never be a dignified senior, I know. I think 
I’ll get some black elastic, and make a band 
to wear under my chin, for I simply can’t pin 
the thing on so it will stay.” 

“ Cheer up, Anne,” cried Jean, " we’re none 
of us ' raring, tearing beauties ’ in them, and I 
guess you look as well as the rest of us.” 


8 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


The girls crowded into Jean’s single room 
on the second floor, which she had chosen in- 
stead of a double one, maintaining that no 
room-mate could ever take the place of Eliza- 
beth Fairfax. She preferred to live alone one 
year to see if it really was as nice as the other 
girls said. She hadn’t seen at first how it 
would be possible for her to be happy at Ash- 
ton at all without Elizabeth, but finally she had 
promised herself to make the best of circum- 
stances, and have her senior year the happiest 
of the four. 

‘‘Why, Mrs. Fairfax must have cooked a 
week to get all these things ready,” remarked 
Anne, biting first into a diminutive mince pie 
and then into a crisp cucumber pickle. “ I 
never tasted anything in my life like this com- 
bination; it’s divine.” 

“ You may not think so later, Anne,” said 
Lois Underwood, “ that’s a terribly risky thing 
to be tackling at this late hour. I see where 
you dream of your great grandmother’s ghost 
and everybody else in the cemetery. Try one 
of these dear little frosted chocolate cakes; 
they’re fine.” 


GETTING BACK 


9 


So the girls tested one after another of the 
tempting array of delicacies spread before 
them, until they declared they could not eat 
another thing. Most of them had worked 
hard for several days setting the new house 
to rights, and were tired, but there was so 
much to be talked over that it was hard to 
break away and go to bed. As they were 
leaving the room, which already showed signs 
of becoming a popular rendezvous for all the 
girls, Anne said to Jean: 

Will you go in town with me to-morrow, 
Jean? I want one good bat before college 
begins.’’ 

Very sorry, dear,” answered Jean, ‘‘ but 
I’m full all day long to-morrow, and can’t pos- 
sibly go off the hill, much as I’d like to. You 
see, in the morning I’ve got to be at the sta- 
tion to meet the freshmen between nine and 
twelve, for I’m on the Hospitality Committee. 
In the ^.fternoon there’s a meeting of Student 
Government, and I’ve promised to go to the 
Inn for supper with Molly Bretton. Then 
in the evening Hope Freedman is having a 
rabbit over in Wellington for some interest- 


10 jean CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


ing freshmen relatives of hers that she wants 
me to meet. And in between times I ought 
to see Mile. Franchant a few moments about 
an advanced French course. I^m thinking of 
taking first semester, and I promised Helen 
Varney I’d play a set of tennis if I possibly 
could.” 

“Haven’t changed a bit, Jean, have you? 
Brim full of engagements as usual. Don’t you 
remember you said last June that you wouldn’t 
do a thing senior year but just take life easy? 
And here you are the very first days filling up 
every minute. Well, don’t forget that Thurs- 
day morning you’ve to attend chapel exercises, 
and in cap and gown show to the admiring 
world that you’re a dignified senior. In case 
I don’t see you in the meantime. I’ll say good- 
bye till then.” 

“ Nonsense, Anne, you know I’ll be in the 
house here between times, and at your disposal 
then, and besides, there’s all the rest of the 
year. Good-night; see you in the morning,” 
and she stood at the door and watched the girls 
disappear into their own rooms. Then she 
went back to her desk and sat down for a few 


GETTING BACK 


II 


moments to think things over. Two things 
troubled her; first, she missed Elizabeth more 
than she ever would have believed ; and second, 
she feared that Anne Cockran was not trying 
very hard to get over her disappointment at 
Jean’s failure to room with her this year. She 
had always wanted her to do so, even while 
Elizabeth was in college, although Anne knew 
Jean would not have considered it then. But 
when she found that Elizabeth was not coming 
back senior year, Anne saw no reason why 
Jean couldn’t share her room with her. Jean 
clung to her determination to be alone, how- 
ever, in spite of Anne’s arguments to the con- 
trary. She liked Anne very much, and they 
had many things in common, and she did want 
to keep her goodwill, for more than once she 
had seen how uncomfortable Anne could make 
people, if she chose. Here then was some- 
thing for her to do during the year in addi- 
tion to all the other things, for she was de- 
termined that there should be nothing but 
harmony in the first year of the Gamma Chi 
House. 

She had been very tired and sleepy while the 


12 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


girls were in the room, but now she was wide 
awake, and she sat for a long, long time star- 
ing at the pictures on the little mahogany desk. 
Finally taking paper and pen, she began to 
write feverishly, and wrote far into the night. 
Notwithstanding this, she arose early the next 
morning, and carried out her full programme 
in every detail; making new friends, welconv 
ing old ones, planning out work for the year, 
and taking up the manifold interests of college 
life, as though it were only yesterday, instead 
of three whole months before, she had dropped 
them. 

Thursday morning brought one of those 
perfect, fresh, breezy fall days. After break- 
fast the five seniors in Gamma Chi House 
donned their caps and gowns, and waited, a 
little impatiently, it must be confessed, for the 
chapel bell to sound its old familiar call to 
service. As it began to ring, the girls started 
out, and all along the way met other seniors, 
happy to be back in the old life again, yet a 
little subdued at the thought that this was the 
beginning of the end. It was the last time 
they would come back on September mornings 


GETTING BACK 


13 


to take up the life they loved so much; next 
year at this time they would all be scattered 
in different directions, and Ashton would go 
on just the same, with its continual welcoming 
of freshmen and graduating of seniors, year 
in and year out. 

The ivy never shone so beautifully on the 
chapel tower, the music of the deep- voiced 
organ never impressed them so seriously, and 
Miss Emerson never looked more dignified or 
sweet than on this first morning of caps and 
gowns. The girls walked slowly down the 
aisle, took the seats which had been assigned 
to them in June, and waited for the service to 
begin. In spite of everything Jean could not 
keep from gazing over in the direction of the 
freshman seats, and remembering how three 
years before she had sat there in that very 
place, and watched the black-robed seniors 
take their seats. And it had seemed so im- 
possible then that she should ever become one 
too, but here she was actually a senior. She 
was so impressed by the thought of all that 
had been done for her in her first year by the 
upper class girls that she resolved to make life 


14 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


as happy as she could for some of the lonely, 
homesick freshmen. 

She was aroused from her reverie by the 
tones of Miss Emerson’s voice welcoming the 
freshmen again, just as she had done that other 
time so long ago; and then after the prayer 
and scripture reading, she turned to the seniors 
and congratulated them, upon arriving at the 
beginning of that important year. Then they 
sang Jean’s favorite hymn, ‘‘Jerusalem the 
Golden,” and filed slowly out of the chapel, 
while the undergraduates stood, and looked on 
with admiration, and perhaps a little envy. 

Still in a daze Jean lingered outside the 
chapel steps, and gazed at the beauty every- 
where around her, until she was aroused by 
Bess Johnson’s voice. 

“ Come, wake up, Jean. Aren’t you going 
over to register ? ” 

“ Yes,” Jean answered vaguely, and joining 
the group of waiting girls, walked with them 
to the office, and for the last time passed in her 
registration blank, and became a full-fledged 


senior. 


CHAPTER II 


THE GAMMA CHI HOODANG ” 

A lthough Bess Johnson had known 
for a long time that she was chair- 
man of the committee to arrange for 
the Gamma Chi hoodang ” for the freshmen 
on the first Monday in October, she put off 
everything as usual until the last moment. So 
on the day of the festivity, the rest of the girls 
in the house found themselves pressed into 
service, and obliged to work like beavers from 
very early in the morning until nearly supper 
time. This year all of the freshmen, instead 
of a chosen few, were invited to the ‘‘ rush- 
ing,’’ which was to take the form of a sheet 
and pillow case party. Each girl was asked to 
come dressed in a sheet and pillow case, and to 
wear suspended from her neck a card bearing 
her first name and the initial of her last name. 

The house had been gayly decorated with 
bright autumn leaves and purple asters, and as 
15 


i6 jean CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


much as possible of the furniture was removed, 
so that there might be space for dancing in the 
living-room, dining-room and hall, which ad- 
joined each other. The refreshments were to 
be served in the kitchen, but the room had been 
so completely transformed into a bower of 
dainty loveliness that one looked in vain for 
the kitchen range and cooking utensils usually 
associated with such places. 

All of the house girls had worked hard, and 
as usual Jean had done far more than her 
share. Just as the clock rang out the hour of 
five, she slowly got down from the stepladder, 
after hanging a last branch of gorgeous red 
oak leaves from the chandelier. 

“ There, girls, I believe that’s the last thing 
in the way of decoration, and now I’m going 
out for a walk by myself before dinner. 
When I’m as tired as I am now, there’s never 
anything ever does me so much good as a 
tramp by myself. It looks pretty wonderful 
here, and I think we’ve done ourselves proud. 
But upon my soul, what a lot of work! Hope 
the dear little f reshies well appreciate our ef- 
forts. Good-bye; if anybody wants me, tell 


THE GAMMA CHI ‘‘HOODANG” i? 


them IVe gone to the ends of the earth, for 
all you know. I don’t want to see or talk with 
a soul for an hour. When I return, I hope 
I’ll be in a much pleasanter mood, but I’m 
cross as ten sticks just at present.” And 
laughing and waving her hand at them good 
naturedly, Jean hurried out across the broad 
piazza and down the steps. 

She walked away from the house as fast as 
she could, and choosing a short cut back of 
the dormitories, soon reached her favorite 
spot. The Willows. After walking for some 
distance along the road, bordered on each 
side by the graceful, silvery willows, she came 
to a little opening where there was a large flat 
stone almost concealed by some high bushes. 
It was quiet and peaceful there and Jean sat 
down a few moments to rest. There she be- 
came so interested in watching the beauty of 
the fall sunset that she did not hear the ap- 
proach of two girls, who stopped just beyond 
where she was sitting, entirely hidden from 
their sight. Suddenly her reverie was broken 
by: 

Well, Phoebe, you haven’t told me yet if 


i8 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 

you are going to the Gamma Chi party to- 
night. I wish you'd go with me. Will 
you?" 

‘‘Why, yes, if I go, Marian, but I hardly 
think I shall. I'm not at all keen about it, 
you know. Those girls don’t appeal to me 
much.” 

“ Why, Phoebe ! I think the girls I’ve met 
in Gamma Chi are perfectly lovely, and I'm 
sure we’ll have a dandy time to-night. Every- 
body says their house is awfully attractive. 
It’s a kind of house-warming, too, for, you 
see, they've only moved in this year.” 

“ Yes, I know all about it, Marian. You 
can’t tell me anything- about Gamma Chi. 
I’ve heard all about it so many times already 
that I’m sick to death of the whole subject. 
They say the girls are awfully cliquey and 
regular snobs. Just because a few of them 
have money they think they’re a little better 
than the rest of us. I suppose that’s the real 
reason they’ve moved off the campus, to be 
more by themselves, and have as little as pos- 
sible to do with the other girls. I, for one, 
hate snobbishness, and I’ve just about made 


THE GAMMA CHI HOODANG ” 19 


up my mind to stay away to-night. Why, only 
this morning I heard some of the upper class 
girls in our dormitory talking about the way 
some of the girls are acting this year, and they 
said that one of the seniors named — ’’ 

But Jean could hear no more, for the two 
freshmen had passed on. But what she had 
heard filled her with surprise and indignation. 
Were girls all over the campus talking about 
Gamma Chi and its members like this? If 
so, was there cause for it? Were the girls 
really beginning to show signs of becoming 
exclusive and snobbish? This was the last 
thought in the minds of the present seniors 
who the year before had been most enthusi- 
astic over the idea of hiring a society house 
off the campus. If it were true, something 
must be done, and done at once, to change any 
wrong impressions which might be spreading 
broadcast through the college, and injuring 
irreparably the society which she loved so 
much. With these ideas crowding one upon 
the other, she almost ran back to the house, 
determined to say something to the girls at 


once. 


20 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


But when she reached there, it was much 
later than she supposed, and most of the girls 
had finished dinner, and left the dining-room 
to dress, so she said nothing about her experi- 
ence to the few who remained. She decided, 
however, to tell them all about it some time 
before she went to bed that night, for it 
weighed so heavily upon her mind that she 
could hot let it wait until morning. She was 
unusually silent while she ate, but the girls 
attributed it to the fact that she was very 
tired from her exertions of the day, and after 
a question or two gave up any attempt at con- 
versation, leaving the room one after another, 
till Jean was all alone. She sat apparently 
lost in thought until the little cuckoo clock in 
the upper hall warned her that it was half 
after seven, and that in an hour the freshmen 
would begin to arrive. 

Still she seemed reluctant to leave the room. 
Finally Katie, the maid, came quietly in, and 
said that if Jean didn’t hurry there wouldn’t 
be time to clear the table and take out the 
furniture. This aroused her, and shaking off 
the depressing mood which seemed to have 


THE GAMMA CHI ^^HOODANG” 21 


taken possession of her so completely, she be- 
came herself again, and laughingly apologized 
to Katie for delaying her so long, at the same 
time beginning to take away the dishes and 
chairs. Jean was a rapid worker, and soon 
every trace of the dinner was removed, and 
Katie began to hustle with the dishes in the 
kitchen in order that everything might be put 
away before the arrival of the first guest. 
Jean gave a last lingering look at the room, 
adjusting decorations here and there, and then 
wandered slowly through the other rooms. 
And as she paused a moment at the foot of the 
stairs she said to herself, So we’re snobs, are 
we, and Gamma Chi is cliquey, and we think 
we’re a little better than the rest of the girls 
in college? Well, if we are, we’ve got to 
begin all over again, and show ourselves to 
people as we really are. And the first person 
to be convinced is that little Phoebe. I liked 
her voice, in spite of what she had to say 
against us, and I think I can convince her that 
she’s been mistaken in her opinion of Gamma 
Chi girls.” 

By nine o’clock the house was taxed to its 


22 jean CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


capacity by the sheeted figures of the fresh- 
men and the society girls. Every girl wore a 
sheet, draped as artistically as possible about 
her form, slender or otherwise, as the case 
might be, and over her head a pillow case with 
holes cut for the eyes, nose and mouth, and 
around her neck the card bearing her name 
to distinguish her from all the others. The 
older girls circulated busily among their 
guests, calling them by name, and talking 
about college affairs in general. Then sud- 
denly came weird sounds of ghostly music 
from the upper hall, and each girl seized the 
one nearest her and began dancing. They 
kept up this for an hour or so amid much 
merriment and laughter. Jean was the gay- 
est of the gay, and seemed to be everywhere, 
introducing girls, starting dances, serving re- 
freshments, and keeping things going pretty 
generally. She was looking everywhere for 
a girl bearing the name of Phoebe, but so far 
she had not succeeded in finding her, and be- 
gan to fear that she had been persuaded to re- 
main in her dormitory, as her conversation of 
the afternoon had threatened. 


THE GAMMA CHI ‘‘ HOODANG ” 23 


Just as she was about to give up the search, 
she came suddenly upon a tall, animated girl 
thanking her partner for a lively two-step, and 
glancing upon the card at her neck, Jean dis- 
covered that it bore the name, Phoebe B. In 
her most gracious manner Jean asked for the 
next dance, and at the opening chords of the 
music whirled her out on the floor and into 
the mazes of the dreamy waltz. They danced 
every moment until the music stopped, and 
were both enthusiastic over the encore, but 
they said hardly anything, although Jean was 
most anxious to get the girl to talk. The idea 
then came to her to have everybody remove 
their sheets and pillow cases at this time in 
order that she might see the girl who had been 
in her thoughts so persistently since her walk 
in the late afternoon. So she left Phoebe B. 
for a few moments while she spoke to Bess 
Johnson about unmasking, promising that she 
would be back directly, and asking the fresh- 
man to wait where she was standing. 

At the unmasking Jean found in the person 
of Phoebe B. a most attractive girl except for 
a lurking"^ sneer around her mouth, which 


24 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


threatened to become a permanent fixture 
there, unless an attempt were made to remove 
it. She understood at once why Phoebe had 
talked as she did in the afternoon, for evi- 
dently she had a little sneering way of talking 
about everything that did not immediately 
concern her. But something in Jean must 
have appealed to her, for she began to talk in 
a most enthusiastic manner about one thing 
after another; when they reached the subject 
of Ashton, Jean found that Phoebe already had 
clearly defined opinions, some of which 
showed she had formed conclusions very has- 
tily, and had evidently been prejudiced one 
way and another by other girls. As yet she 
had no real opinions of her own, except that 
she liked college, and meant to be a suc- 
cess. 

Jean took her over the house, introduced 
her to all the girls of the society and to as 
many as possible of the freshmen whom she 
did not already know, and felt she had done 
everything in her power to show Phoebe the 
best side of Gamma Chi. Not because she 
was at all sure that she wanted her for a 


THE GAMMA CHI “ HOODANG ” 25 


future member of the society, but she did 
want her to see the best, and, as Jean believed, 
the only side of the society. After a while 
she left her with some of the sophomores, and 
busied herself with other of the freshmen, but 
again and again she found Phoebe at her side, 
or met her piercing eyes somewhere in the 
crowd. 

At a little after eleven o’clock the party 
broke up, and when the last girl had said good- 
night and departed, Jean called the girls into 
the living room, and starting up a fresh fire in 
the fireplace, told them she wanted to talk to 
them before she went upstairs. Some of them 
were very tired, and tried to beg off, but Jean 
insisted that they should all stay a few min- 
utes. Then after they had settled themselves 
comfortably, she began : 

“ Girls, as president of Gamma Chi, I feel 
obliged to talk with you to-night about some- 
thing which has troubled me a great deal. 
To-day I had occasion to hear what other girls 
in college think about Gamma Chi and our 
new house off the campus. We are called rich 
and snobbish and exclusive, and the idea has 


26 jean CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


gone abroad that we consider ourselves a little 
better than most of the other girls, and that 
we have taken this house away from the dor- 
mitories to be by ourselves. I am grieved 
more than any of you know to hear such 
things about the society which I love so much. 
I ask you if these accusations are true. Are 
we doing things to cause such remarks? If 
so, I feel we are making a terrible mistake, 
and something must be done at once to rectify 
it. I am not willing to hold the position of 
president of Gamma Chi if these things con- 
tinue. I love the society and every girl in it, 
but I love old Ashton better, and we must re- 
member that we belong to the college, and 
ought to make that come first in our lives. 
Now I ask you all to help me during the weeks 
to come to live down the reputation we have 
somehow been credited with, of being exclu- 
sive and snobbish. If by Christmas there is 
not a different feeling existing, I shall go back 
to dormitory life and give up the presidency 
of Gamma Chi.’’ 

At once there arose indignant questions as 
to how Jean had found out this thing. Some 


THE GAMMA CHI HOODANG ” 27 


girls arose to deny the accusations, but Jean 
silenced them all with: 

‘‘ Don’t ask me any questions about it. I 
feel in a sense it is true, for looking back over 
some of the things that we have said and done 
in the past, I remember we have not always 
been as democratic as we might have been. 

‘ Let the dead past bury its dead.’ In the 
future, work for the best of the society and 
the college, and I ask for nothing more. 
That’s all for to-night, except perhaps we’d 
better get the dining-room in condition for 
breakfast, as it will save Katie a lot of work 
if we do it now. And all of us together can 
make quick work of it. Half of us can take 
the dining-room and the rest the kitchen. Pull 
down the decorations, and put back the neces- 
sary things. Wasn’t the party one grand suc- 
cess! But I admit that I feel like the tag end 
of a misspent life. We’ll talk over the eligible 
freshmen to-morrow, but let’s not be too hasty 
in our conclusions, for first impressions are 
often wrong in the case of freshmen.” 

The girls got to work with a will, although 
one or two were inclined to talk more at 


28 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


length on the subject with which Jean had so 
startled them. It had hit home in several 
cases, and naturally the girls resented it for 
the moment, but there was no time for more 
talk that night, and perhaps in a few days the 
matter would have blown over. It took but a 
little while to restore order, and the tired girls 
went to their rooms to snatch a look at the 
next day’s lessons, perhaps, before putting out 
their lights for good. 

The breakfast bell rang next morning 
promptly at seven-fifteen, as usual, and for the 
next few moments the girls straggled in, one 
by one, until the tables were nearly filled. 
Naturally the talk centered on the party of the 
evening before, but gradually drifted from 
that to the numberless events of the busy week 
ahead about which the girls seemed to talk 
faster than they ate. When the meal was 
nearly over there came a sharp ring at the bell, 
and the maid came into the dining-room with 
a huge box for Jean. Upon opening it she 
found it contained a dozen American Beauty 
roses, and on top of these a card bearing these 
words : 


THE GAMMA CHI HOODANG ’’ 29 


“ Thanks for the splendid time you gave me last 
night. Will you come to see me some time at West 38? 

“ Ph<ebe B.” 

“Well!’’ exclaimed Bess Johnson, “what’s 
this? A crush so early in the year? Seems 
to me some one thought an awful lot of you, 
Jean, to get up as early as this to order Amer- 
ican Beauties. And especially at the price 
they are now. Who is it? Tell us the ro- 
mance.” 

“ Why, it’s Phoebe B. ; that’s all I know 
about it. We got to be good friends last night, 
but I neglected to ask her the rest of her name. 
I rather like the sound of Phoebe B. But, tell 
rne, who knows anything about her ? ” 

“ Is it possible,” asked Anne Cockran, “ that 
you don’t know who Phoebe B. is? Why, 
she’s quite the celebrity of the freshman class. 
She’s Phoebe Batelli. Some name, isn’t it? 
She’s the richest girl in college, and her 
father’s a nobleman. Italian, I think, but I’m 
not quite sure of the nationality. Her mother 
is a New Englander, hence the daughter’s 
name of Phoebe, but I think she’s not living 
with her husband, and so the girl is being 


30 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


brought up here by her mother’s people. 
She’s got money to burn, but she’s an awful 
snob. Haven’t you heard about the rumpus 
she had with her room-mate ? ” 

Jean hadn’t heard, neither had most of the 
other girls, so Anne, who always seemed to 
get hold of more news than all of the other 
seniors put together, proceeded to tell what 
she had heard from a friend in West only the 
day before. 

‘‘ Why, girls, I’m surprised you haven’t 
heard; it’s all over college. You see, when 
Phoebe arrived, a little late, several days after 
registration, I believe, she found she hadn’t a 
single room, as she expected, but was obliged 
to share a double in West with a sweet little 
Japanese girl named Tami lami. This 
seemed quite impossible to the proud young 
Phoebe, and she immediately went to Miss 
Thurston, and threatened to leave college if 
she were forced to remain longer in the room 
with ‘ that heathen,’ as she called her Japanese 
room-mate. In the meantime poor little Tami 
had found life so unpleasant in West 38 that 
she also had gone to Miss Emerson, and begged 


THE GAMMA CHI ‘^HOODANG’’ 31 


for another room. Miss Emerson saw how 
hard life was going to be for them both under 
those circumstances, so she has given Tami a 
single by herself, and Phoebe B. is to still live 
in 38, but for a room-mate she has Nell Par- 
sons. You know she flunked out last year and 
is repeating, and I guess she’ll hold her own 
with Phoebe B. all right, for no one was ever 
known to walk over Nell ! ” 

“ Let’s see,” said Jean, '' isn’t Nell Parsons, 
Sigma Delta? ” 

When Anne replied that she was, Jean 
smiled, and whispered to herself, Perhaps 
that accounts for it,” but aloud she said. 
Well, girls, this Phoebe B. interests me very 
much, she is very fascinating to talk to, and 
I believe she has great possibilities for good or 
bad, depending upon who gets a firm hold upon 
her.” 

‘‘ Oh,” said Bess, does that mean you hope 
Gamma Chi will get the hold ? ” 

I didn’t say, Bess,” replied Jean; it’s 
pretty early to commit one’s self yet. I simply 
said she interested me, and I think there’s a lot 
in her. Where shall we put these roses? I 


32 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 

think I’ll run over with a few of them to Mile, 
Franchant. She wasn’t feeling very well yes- 
terday; perhaps these will brighten her up a 
bit.” 

With these words she got up from the table, 
and started for the door, then remembering 
something she came back a little, “ Oh, you 
seniors, don’t forget there’s a class meeting 
this noon in College. Everybody going ? ” 

'M’m not,” said Anne. ‘^What’s the use? 
Everything’s all planned out; we won’t have 
anything to say. None of our girls are of- 
ficers or on any of the committees, consequently 
there’s nothing doing for us. Lucky some of 
us are on Student Government or we’d have 
nothing to say about college affairs.” 

‘‘ Oh, Anne, please don’t talk like that,” re- 
turned Jean. It’s your duty to go to class 
meeting, and if you don’t, the other girls will 
say what I was talking about last night, that 
we haven’t any class spirit, and don’t care for 
anything but ourselves. Don’t let them have 
opportunities to talk. Bess, you’re going, 
aren’t you? And Lois, too? ” 

Both girls nodded their assent, and then 


THE GAMMA CHI ‘‘HOODANG” 33 


Jean went up to Anne, and putting her arms 
around her made her promise to go to class 
meeting, and as a pledge she tucked a beautiful 
great red rose in Anne’s lacey shirt waist, and 
agreed to meet her in front of College at 
twelve. Then she went up to her room to look 
over her French before chapel, and to herself 
she admitted that perhaps there was some truth 
in the accusation against Gamma Chi, but her 
work for the year as president of it was to 
stamp out the wrong, and make Gamma Chi 
acknowledged as a factor for good in the col- 
lege. 


CHAPTER III 


** MEETING EMERGENCIES ” 

T EAN, Jean, where are you? I’ve 
I been looking for you everywhere,” 
and Polly Thompson hurried up the 
stairs, as Jean’s voice floated down to her from 
the upper regions. By the time she had 
reached the landing on the third floor, Jean 
came into view, dragging several large rugs 
behind her with one hand, and clutching madly 
at numberless brushes and brooms with the 
other. 

Well, what on earth have you been doing, 
Jean?” 

Cleaning. Doesn’t it look like it, Polly? ” 
Yes, but who ever heard of cleaning in the 
middle of the afternoon, and especially such a 
beautiful one as this? ” 

But I felt just like some exercise, and be- 
sides, my room was getting to be a positive dis- 
grace. It’s glorious out on that little piazza, 
34 


MEETING EMERGENCIES 


35 


and the best place in the world to shake rugs. 
I wonder more people don’t build them at the 
top of their houses for that very reason. How 
the wind does blow up there to-day ! ” 

‘‘ Yes, indeed it must, judging from your 
appearance. My dear, the part in your hair 
looks like the road to riotous living.” 

“Well, Polly, what a simile! You’d better 
spring that on Miss Whiting. I knew it 
looked pretty bad, but I hope it’s not nearly as 
bad at that. But tell me, why were you in 
such a rush to find me? By the way you 
shouted, I thought the house was on fire, or 
something equally as exciting. What’s hap- 
pened ? ” 

“ Oh, I nearly forgot about the letter.” 

“ What letter ? Tell me about it at once ! I 
can’t bear to be kept in suspense.” 

“ Why, Miss Emerson’s maid just came to 
the door, and left this letter for you, and al- 
though she said she was not to wait for an 
answer, I felt sure if it were anything from 
Miss Emerson it must be very important, and 
you would want it at once.” 

“ Yes, of course, Polly, but what can Miss 


36 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


Emerson be writing to me about ? I was talk- 
ing to her on the campus only this morning.’' 

“Well, open it quickly and see, Jean; I’m 
all excited, too.” 

So Jean dropped the rugs and the brooms, 
opened the envelope, hastily read the letter, 
and then passed it to Polly to read. 

“ Oh, Jean,” Polly burst out in a moment, 
“isn’t it splendid! Invited to the first of 
Prexy’s senior Sunday dinners ! It’s an honor, 
isn’t it, for she only invites the ‘ celebs ’ and the 
honor girls and her favorites. And to think 
you should be invited to the first one! But 
then, why shouldn’t you, Jean? Every one 
knows you’re the — ” 

“ There, Polly, that will do. It certainly is 
very kind of Miss Emerson to invite me for 
dinner on Sunday, and I shall be delighted to 
accept. But I must go right downstairs and 
put these rugs in place, and then answer the 
invitation, so Katie can take it over before din- 
ner. Would you mind carrying down these 
brushes? I don’t see how I ever got every- 
thing up alone.” 

Polly insisted upon carrying the brushes and 


MEETING EMERGENCIES 


37 


her share of the rugs, too. They reached the 
second floor in safety, and were about to enter 
Jean’s room when Anne Cockran came up the 
hallway and stopped them. 

What’s up — house cleaning? ” she asked. 
“ That reminds me, my room ought to be done 
too, but I hate to do it, and always put it off 
till the last moment. Judging from the ex- 
pression on your faces, you’ve been enjoying 
it.” 

‘‘ Yes, we have,” said Polly. “ But that 
isn’t what makes us look so happy. We’ve 
had a surprise. Jean has just received an in- 
vitation to Prexy’s first ' Sunday dinner for 
senior ‘ celebs.’ Isn’t she the fortunate girl, 
and aren’t you proud of her? ” 

‘‘ Yes, of course,” said Anne coolly. 

Were any of the other house girls invited? ” 
“ No, I guess not,” replied Polly, ‘‘ for I 
answered the bell myself, and the maid gave 
me only the one letter addressed to Jean. 
Why? Did you expect one, Anne? ” 

“No. Of course, if any one in this house 
got an invitation it would be Jean.” 

“ Cheer up, Anne,” said Polly. “ You 


38 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


needn’t be so grumpy about it; your turn will 
come before very long.” 

“ Oh, don’t worry, Polly, Prexy never did 
have much of a crush on me,” and without an- 
other word, Anne went into her own room, 
leaving the two girls staring at each other in 
astonishment. 

Why, Jean,” asked Polly after a moment, 
what on earth’s got into Anne this year ? 
She isn’t a bit as she used to be. Do you 
think she’s worrying about something? I 
wonder if she’s got enough hours to graduate. 
I shouldn’t dare ask her about it, but why don’t 
you, Jean. She wouldn’t mind it from you, 
she’s so fond of you.” 

‘‘ Well, perhaps I will ask her one of these 
days, for I begin to suspect there is something 
the matter. Won’t you stop a while in my 
room? I’ve a lot of new magazines for you 
to look at.” 

*'No, thank you, Jean; I’ve a date with 
Betty Babcock at five and it must be nearly that 
time now; but, then, nobody ever expects me 
to be on time, I always have too much to do. 
Oh, by the way, Jean, I’m thinking of giving a 


MEETING EMERGENCIES 


39 


tea sometime next month for two of Betty’s 
friends who are going to visit her for a. few 
days, if I can borrow some of your tea things. 
You know I lost all mine last year in the fire, 
and haven’t had the wherewithal since to stock 
up again. That’s one of the delights of being 
poor.” 

‘‘ Why, surely, Polly, you’re welcome to 
anything I have either in my room or down- 
stairs. You know I put most of my best 
things in the dining-room. Shall you have 
your tea there or in your own room ? ” 

I think it will be lots cosier in my room, 
for I’m not going to have many, just a few of 
the juniors and seniors that Betty and I like 
the best. But I want it nice all the same, be- 
cause these two girls go to boarding school on 
the Hudson, where they do the society life up 
in such grand style. So that’s why I want 
some of your things, Jean; they’re all so good 
looking. Thanks for your generous offer; 
I’ll let you know later just when I’ll want 
them, and of course you can consider yourself 
invited to the tea now. And, Jean, dear, could 
I borrow your sweater until dinner time, as 


40 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


long as you’re not going to use it. I tried to 
cleanse my white one last Saturday, but it 
shrunk so I positively can’t get it on. There, 
the clock’s striking five now. What did I tell 
you? Of course I’ll be late, for I promised 
to meet Betty at the Inn. Thanks so much for 
the sweater! See you at dinner.” And pull- 
ing on the sweater which Jean handed her, she 
rushed out of the room, down the stairs, and 
out of the front door, shutting it after her 
with a bang. 

Left to herself, Jean arranged the rugs, and 
then slowly dressed for dinner before sitting 
down at her desk to answer Miss Emerson’s 
invitation. She felt very happy indeed that 
she had been thus honored, but her happiness 
had been marred a little by Anne’s jealous re- 
marks, and she wished she might have been 
invited, too. More than that, however, she 
wished she might do something to restore 
Anne’s former good nature, which seemed to 
be rapidly disappearing, changing her into an 
entirely different girl. It did not take long to 
write the note of acceptance, and send it by 
Katie. She was always willing to do errands 


MEETING EMERGENCIES 


41 


for the girls, who rewarded her liberally with 
money and bits of discarded finery. Then 
Jean had three days to anticipate. 

Sunday was a drizzly November day, but 
the weather could not dampen Jean’s spirits, 
and putting on her rubber coat over the new 
silk dinner dress which had arrived from Bos- 
ton only the day before, she scorned umbrella 
and hat and hurried down Faculty Row. A 
glance at the clock on College Hall told her 
that it was already quarter of one, and dinner 
was served at one o’clock. Halfway down the 
Row she overtook Mile. Franchant, and was 
delighted to find that she was also going to the 
dinner. These two were the last to arrive, and 
after they had taken off their raincoats they 
were greeted most cordially by Miss Emerson 
and Miss Thurston and the five other seniors. 

Jean had not even heard what other girls 
were invited, so she looked eagerly at them, 
and discovered Phyllis Woodworth, class pres- 
ident; Mary Williamson, president of Student 
Government; Eleanor Whitcomb, editor of the 
Ashton Literary Circle; Dorothy Baxter, 
leader of the Glee Club; and Ruth Bliss, who 


42 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


held no class or college office, but was one of 
those quiet, unobtrusive girls whom everybody 
loved without quite knowing the reason why. 
There was plenty to talk about, because they 
all knew each other so well, and Miss Emerson 
had the happy faculty of always making her 
guests feel at ease at once. 

After a few moments they went into the 
dining-room, ‘where they thoroughly enjoyed 
the simple but dignified repast spread before 
them. Then there was music in the little 
music room, which held just about this number 
of guests comfortably. Miss Emerson played 
herself, and was passionately fond of music, 
and always delighted when her guests either 
played or sang. Dorothy Baxter sang several 
songs to Jean's accompaniment, but they were 
the only ones that day who could play or sing. 
So when Miss Emerson asked Jean to play, 
she went to the piano, and softly began one of 
Beethoven's sonatas. The instrument was in 
perfect tune, and Jean just in the right mood. 
Surrounded by sympathetic listeners, she 
played on for almost an hour without inter- 
ruption; then quietly arose and apologized for 


MEETING EMERGENCIES 


43 


seeming so completely to have forgotten her- 
self and her surroundings. But it had been 
a rare treat for the others, who, although they 
knew Jean played well, and was studying both 
the piano and organ in Boston, suspected noth- 
ing of her real ability, for it was seldom that 
she revealed herself as she had to-day. They 
begged her to continue, but she refused, say- 
ing that she felt she had already played too 
long. 

There was no more music, and the conver- 
sation became general imtil one of the girls 
rose to go. As the others began to follow her 
example. Miss Emerson came up to Jean and 
asked her to remain a little longer, as she 
wished to talk with her about a little matter 
which would not interest the other girls. So, 
in a few moments, Jean found herself alone 
with Miss Emerson in the little study upstairs, 
where a cheery fire blazed in the fireplace. 

‘‘ It’s about vespers, Jean, that I want to 
talk with you,” began Miss Emerson. You 
know, of course, that our regular college ves- 
pers begin to-night, and continue every second 
week throughout the winter and spring. I 


44 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


have just returned from a business trip to some 
of the colleges in the Middle West, where I 
have been getting speakers and ideas for our 
own services. At one of the society houses 
in Chicago where I was entertained, I was im- 
pressed by something they did there that I 
want to ask you to try in your society house. 
Every other Sunday the college has its regu- 
lar vespers in the chapel, as we do here, and 
then on the other Sundays the girls in the so- 
ciety houses hold what they call ‘ house ves- 
pers.’ They have a short musical service and 
a talk by some member of the faculty. There 
seemed to be a splendid spirit among the girls, 
and I believe it is worth trying here. I look 
upon Gamma Chi as a splendid example of a 
college society, and I am proud to be an hon- 
orary member, and I believe if you set the 
example in this matter of Sunday house ves- 
pers, the other societies will follow your lead, 
and then later, perhaps, we can institute the 
same in the dormitories. It seems to me that 
it will bring the girls closer together than any 
other thing could possibly do. If you care to 
try the experiment, I shall be only too glad to 


MEETING EMERGENCIES ” 45 

be the first to talk to the girls, and I am sure 
you have enough talent among yourselves for 
endless musical programmes. Don’t decide 
to-day, but talk it over with your girls, and let 
me know later on in the week.” 

“ Thank you for offering to talk to us, Miss 
Emerson ; it is always an honor and a pleasure 
to have you with us. I will talk the matter 
over with the girls, and let you know their de- 
cision at once. I think it is a splendid idea, 
and Fm willing to do all I can to make it a 
success.” 

“ Then it’s future is assured,” said Miss 
Emerson, “ for everything you undertake suc- 
ceeds. Excuse me just one moment, dear. I 
hear the telephone in the hall, and I fear there’s 
no one else upstairs to answer it.” 

‘‘ Certainly,” said Jean; and she watched the 
tall, slender figure in its soft gray dress disap- 
pear in the adjoining hallway, and thought how 
much she had come to respect and love this 
woman in her four years at Ashton. 

But when Miss Emerson stepped into the 
room again after perhaps five minutes’ absence, 
her face was a little flushed, and had one been 


46 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


a keen observer, one might even have detected 
a shade of disappointment there. But she 
quietly seated herself again near Jean and said, 
Let’s see, dear; what were we saying? ” 

‘‘We were talking about the house ves- 
pers,” answered Jean. 

“ Oh, yes, of course, and you had promised 
me to speak about them to the girls. Well, I 
seem to be asking several favors of you to-day, 
for circumstances force me to ask another so 
soon. This time I am going to ask you if you 
will play the organ to-night at vespers. I 
have just received a telephone message that 
Professor Leighton will be unable to take 
charge, as he was suddenly taken ill this noon, 
and immediately ordered by his physician to 
the hospital for an operation for appendicitis. 
I am especially anxious for good music to- 
night, because our speaker is Dean Townsend 
of Woodston College, and I know of no one 
else who can do as well as you. I have been 
deeply impressed by your playing this after- 
noon, and as you are studying the organ with 
Professor Leighton, I feel confident you can 
do as well on that as on the piano.” 


MEETING EMERGENCIES ” 


47 


“Oh, Miss Emerson,” cried Jean, “I 
couldn’t play for vespers ; IVe only been 
studying the organ for two years and IVe 
never played in public in my life. Isn’t there 
some one else you can think of? I dislike to 
refuse you, but, really, what you ask is impos- 
sible.” 

“ Nothing is impossible, my dear, if once we 
make up our minds to it. I am sure you can 
take charge of the music, or I should not have 
asked you to do so. Of course the choir have 
rehearsed their songs several times and the 
accompaniments will be easy, so if you will 
choose a few of your simplest selections to 
play during the fifteen minutes before the ser- 
vice begins, that is all that will be necessary. 
Please don’t refuse, for if you cannot help me 
with the music I shall feel obliged to give up 
the service, and that would be a great disap- 
pointment to me.” 

“Very well. Miss Emerson, I will do my 
best, but I fear you have too much confidence 
in me. If you will excuse me now, I will 
hurry back to the house to get some of my 
music, and then go over to the chapel to prac- 


48 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


tice. There is quite a little time yet before the 
service.’' 

As Jean hastened down the Row, the 
thought flashed across her mind that this was 
the vesper service to which she had invited 
Bob Bowker, who had reached home only the 
week before from a summer at the University 
of Berlin, and who now was to begin his work 
at Harvard as an instructor in English. Her 
first idea was to telephone him to postpone his 
call until later, but then she decided that as he 
was probably already on his way out there, that 
would do no good. Then, too, she was very 
anxious to see him, for it had been a long time 
since Class Day the June before, when he had 
been her guest, and letters, especially foreign 
ones, are such inadequate things. She won- 
dered what he would think when he arrived at 
the house and found her gone. But she would 
write him a note to explain, and she hoped he 
was sensible enough to understand. Then she 
would ask Polly Thompson to entertain him, 
and take him to ‘vespers with her, and as soon 
as the service was over, she could meet them 
and invite him to the house for supper. It was 


MEETING EMERGENCIES 


49 


her turn to have a guest, consequently she 
would have to take no part in preparing the 
meal. 

She slipped quietly into the house, without 
any of the girls seeing her, and went directly 
to her own room. She hastily wrote a note 
to Bob, gathered up some of her music, took 
out her cap and gown, and then went over to 
Polly’s room, and fortunately found her alone. 
It did not take long to tell her the plans, and 
pledging her to secrecy, she left the house as 
quietly as she had entered, and hastened to the 
chapel. 

There was surprise on every side when the 
service began, and one by one the girls dis- 
covered that Jean Cabot was playing the great 
organ. It was the first time that they remem- 
bered hearing any one but Professor Leighton 
play it. She sat there in her cap and gown 
apparently as calm and as much at home, as 
though she were playing the piano at the so- 
ciety house. No one suspected that she was 
having a struggle to control her nervousness, 
which threatened several times to get complete 
possession of her, for the music that filled the 


50 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


chapel was like an inspiration to the many lis- 
teners. During the short sermon when Jean 
left the organ and sat behind the choir, she 
gazed out into the sea of faces before her, and 
was not long in locating Polly and Bob in one 
of the front rows. In the first glance of recog- 
nition she was sure she read also a look of ap- 
proval at what she had done, and she realized 
that Bob was not displeased at what might 
have seemed her desertion of him. 

Dean Townsend’s subject was: ‘‘Meeting 
Emergencies,” and he presented it in such a 
simple, straightforward manner that it made a 
deep impression upon every one who heard 
him. At the close of the service, after the last 
note of the Recessional died away, and the 
organ had been closed, Jean started to leave 
the choir loft, but she heard some one softly 
calling her name. Turning in the direction 
from whence the sound came, she saw Miss 
Emerson and Dean Townsend standing close 
to the rail. As she went up to them, Miss 
Emerson introduced her to the distinguished 
speaker and then added, “ I wanted you to 


MEETING EMERGENCIES ’’ 5i 

know at least one Ashton girl who has had 
some experience in meeting emergencies.’' 

And then pressing Jean’s hand, she said 
softly, “ Thank you, Jean, for what you have 
done to-night.” 

And as Jean walked slowly down the stairs 
to meet Bob and Polly she felt that indeed it 
had been worth while. 


CHAPTER IV 

POLLY THOMPSON''s TEA 

I N some unaccountable way Jean had 
caught cold, it developed into the grip, 
and she had been forced, much against 
her will, to remain in bed several days, which, 
as she afterward said, were days of torture, 
for she never remembered being sick enough 
before to have to go to bed. She was a little 
humiliated, too, because she had hitherto 
prided herself upon the fact that during her 
entire college course, she had had neither an 
ache nor a pain, excepting perhaps a little men- 
tal pain she may have suffered annually around 
examination time. When she was over the 
worst of it, and managed to “ crawl round,” as 
she said, the college doctor suggested that she 
sign off, and go away from the hill for a few 
days, to visit some friends, if she could find 
any who were longing for company just then. 
52 


POLLY THOMPSON’S TEA 


53 


Jean could think of plenty of places to go, but 
the one which appealed to her most was the 
home of her cousin, Anna Maitlandt, or to be 
more exact, perhaps one should have said 
Anna Maitlandt Robertson. Although Anna 
had graduated high in her class at the Massa- 
chusetts General Hospital that very fall, she 
had not done any actual nursing, for the day 
following her graduation her engagement was 
announced to Dr. John Robertson, a rising 
young surgeon, whom she had met during her 
hospital work, and shortly after they were 
quietly married, and were now living in Bos- 
ton in a small apartment house. Anna had 
written Jean several times urging her to visit 
them over week-ends, but so far Jean had had 
no opportunity. Now this was the very time, 
for she really needed real care and nursing; 
and with a doctor and trained nurse to look 
after her, there would be no reason in the 
world why she shouldn’t improve rapidly. 
She telephoned to Anna, and found it would 
be perfectly convenient for her to go there. 
Anna further insisted that she should go out 
to Ashton after Jean the next day in the doc- 


54 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 

tor’s electric runabout, which she had learned 
to run. 

So on Friday morning Jean struggled into 
some clothes, and with the help of Anne and 
Polly tried to make herself presentable, in spite 
of her pale cheeks and heavy eyes, which were 
unmistakable evidences of her recent illness. 
Her bag was packed, and her coat and hat 
were on, for Anna was to arrive about eleven, 
and it was that already. She sat down in a 
low chair by the window to catch the first sight 
of the machine as it came up the street. 

Now, girls,” she said, make yourselves 
perfectly at home in here while I’m gone. 
Here’s a box of candy you can finish at your 
leisure; and those flowers you can take into 
your rooms if you care to. I’ve chosen the 
freshest ones to take over to Anna, but some 
that are left are still beautiful. Wasn’t it 
thoughtful of Phoebe Batelli to send me those 
lilies and orchids? She’s always doing some- 
thing nice for me in spite of the fact that she’s 
pledged to Sigma Delta. From what I hear, 
she seems to be improving wonderfully in all 
directions. I guess college is just what she 


POLLY THOMPSON’S TEA 55 


needed to make a real girl of her. Polly, 
won’t you take these orchids ? ” 

‘‘Yes, with much thanks, but I notice you 
aren’t giving away any of those dark red car- 
nations. You always have some of those in 
your room, Jean. Some one must send them 
to you regularly, I think, or have you a stand- 
ing order with the florist ? ” 

“ Why — er — yes — they are sent to me 
every Monday morning.” 

“Of course one couldn’t guess who sends 
them,” said Polly laughing, “ but there, I 
didn’t mean to bother you. All I’ve got to 
say is that I like his taste, for certainly the 
dark red ones are the most beautiful.” 

While Polly and Jean were talking about 
the flowers, Anne had been walking restlessly 
round the room, looking at one thing after an- 
other. Finally as she stopped before the book- 
case, she exclaimed, “ Why, Jean, what on 
earth are these piles of papers on this lower 
shelf?” 

“Those,” answered Jean, “why those are 
my English themes, all that I’ve ever written 
since I’ve been at Ashton, excepting, of course. 


56 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


those which were never corrected, and con- 
sequently never returned. At first I saved 
them just for a joke, and then later the idea 
came to me to save them seriously, and see at 
the end of the four years what I had written 
and how much I had improved. I used to hate 
to write themes, but now I’m getting positively 
fond of it, and once in a while I get some quite 
decent marks and criticisms on them. If I had 
time I think I’d try for the ‘ Circle,’ but I 
can’t do everything. 

Isn’t that a ‘ honk, honk,’ in front of the 
house ? I meant to watch out of this window, 
but I’ve been talking so much, I forgot all 
about it. I guess I must be improving rapidly, 
for it seems good to talk again, and when I 
was in bed I didn’t care if I never talked with 
anybody, it hurt my throat so. Polly, please 
run into the other room, and see if Anna is 
waiting. I don’t want to go out in the air 
until I have to.” 

Polly was back in a moment, and reported 
that Anna was just getting out of the machine 
and coming into the house. The three girls 
hurried downstairs to meet her. As Anna was 


POLLY THOMPSON’S TEA 


57 


an old Gamma Chi girl, and had not seen the 
new house, she was delighted to be shown over 
the rooms downstairs and declared she wished 
she were back again to enjoy all this new splen- 
dor. They tried to prevail upon her to stay 
longer that day, but she was anxious to get 
Jean to her home as soon as possible, but she 
promised either to return with Jean, or come 
out for initiation, which would be sometime 
within the next two weeks, provided Jean re- 
turned to college. As the two settled them- 
selves comfortably in the little runabout and 
were on the point of starting, Polly exclaimed : 

“ Oh, Jean, how long will you be gone? If 
Betty Babcock’s friends should arrive while 
you were away, and I decided to have my tea 
I told you about, would you mind if I used 
some of your things ? ” 

Why, of course not, Polly. As I said be- 
fore, take anything you want. I shall be very 
sorry to miss your tea, but perhaps I shan’t 
have to.” 

And as they started away Polly called out 
again, “ How about the dark red carnations, 
Jean?” 


58 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


“ Oh, please take care of them for me. That 
is, if any come,” and Jean smiled in such a 
peculiar manner that Polly felt sure that next 
week the dark red carnations would be deliv- 
ered in person instead of sent out to Ashton by 
express. 

Jean’s recovery at her cousin’s home was 
rapid. The change did her a world of good, 
and the excellent care she received soon 
banished every indication of her recent attack 
of grip. By the following Wednesday she de- 
clared she was herself again, and must return 
to college, for she had already missed so much 
that she dreaded the thought of making it all 
up. 

“ But,” questioned Dr. Robertson at the 
breakfast table that morning, where they were 
discussing the subject, “ aren’t you a senior, 
and won’t they make concessions to a senior, 
they used to do so ’way back in my college 
days.” 

‘‘Yes,” replied Jean, “probably they will, 
but I’m trying for honors in French this year, 
and am doing extra work with Mile. Fran- 
chant. You know I never was cut out for a 


POLLY THOMPSON’S TEA 


59 


grind, so with all my other work it comes 
pretty hard.” 

“ Jean Cabot ! ” said Anna with a little 
scream, ‘^you trying for honors in French! 
It does my heart good to hear it, for I haven’t 
forgotten how you talked about studying and 
lessons when you first came to college; and 
you laughed a little at my old-fashioned ideas, 
as you probably called them then, of what a 
college education would do for a girl. I 
thought then that sooner or later you’d come 
round to my way of thinking, and I can see 
now that you have. Tell me, have you thought 
anything about what you will do after college 
is over? I hope you will keep on with your 
music, you love it so.” 

‘‘ Perhaps she will do just what certain 
other young ladies I know of have done upon 
receiving their much-coveted diplomas. From 
all appearances, it looks a little suspicious,” 
and Dr. John continued to eat his grape-fruit 
with a knowing smile. 

But, John, dear, you needn’t say one word. 
You know I wanted to nurse for a year, but 
you wouldn’t listen to it,” put in Anna quickly. 


6o jean CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


‘‘ Well, of all things, Nan, I didn’t say you 
were one of those certain young ladies, did I ? 
Oh, I forgot to tell you that I have an impor- 
tant meeting of the Medical Club to-night, and 
after that I may have to stay all night at the 
hospital, because we may have to perform an- 
other operation on Mrs. Morton. She’s in a 
pretty serious condition. So why don’t you 
stay out at College to-night with Jean? 
You’ve been wanting to go out all the fall, and 
here’s a first-rate opportunity.” 

'‘So you want to get rid of me, do you? 
Well, I think I’ll go then, if Jean will invite 
me to stay with her. I had planned to go out 
to initiation next week, but I really prefer this, 
for I can see more of the girls than I could in 
the rush and excitement of initiation. When 
shall we start, Jean? John will be using the 
machine, so we shall be obliged to depend upon 
the trains to-day.” 

“ I have a little shopping I’d like to do this 
morning, so we might have an early lunch at 
the Tea Room, and then take the first after- 
noon train out, if it is agreeable to you. Then 
I shall have plenty of time to get my work 


POLLY THOMPSON’S TEA 


6i 


straightened out, and Pll sign on and begin 
work to-morrow morning. I shall be ready 
to start any time you say, but if you’ll excuse 
me now, I’ll just write one short note to mail 
when we go down-town.” 

“ Yes, cousin,” put in Dr. John, be sure 
and make it short, but sweet. Is it to — er — 
you know. I’ve forgotten his name. Same old 
story.” And the doctor hurried away to his 
office, where a patient already awaited him. 

It was a bracing November morning, good 
to be out in, and the two girls enjoyed every 
minute of it, and carried out all the plans they 
had made at the breakfast table except that 
they were a little later in reaching the hill than 
they had expected. But about half -past three 
they might have been seen walking leisurely up 
the Row and then down Longwood Avenue in 
the direction of the Gamma Chi house. 

“ If you don’t mind, Jean,” said Anna, ‘‘ I 
think I’ll not do much visiting or sightseeing 
until the last part of the afternoon. I’ve got a 
bit of a headache, but I think if I lie down for 
an hour or so. I’ll be all right. You go right 
on doing what you had planned, and don’t let 


62 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


me interfere. All I ask for is your couch 
where I can curl up for a little while and sleep 
it off.^’ 

“ Oh, Pm terribly sorry, Anna, I never im- 
agined you had headaches, but we’ll make the 
couch as comfy as possible, and I hope you’ll 
feel better by five. We’ll run over and call 
on Mile. Franchant then, if you like, for I 
know you’re very fond of her and she of you. 
Here we are at Gamma Chi house, and al- 
though I’ve enjoyed every minute of my visit 
with you, it does seem good to be back. Let’s 
go right up to my room, unless some of the 
girls see us first and stop us. Generally 
there’s no one in the house at this time of day, 
anyway, so I think we’re safe. Why, I won- 
der what’s the matter with Polly Thompson; 
all the curtains are down in her room. I hope 
she didn’t catch my cold, and take to her bed, 
too.” 

Fortunately there were only two of the 
sophomores in the living-room. They did not 
know Anna, so Jean did not feel obliged to 
stop then and introduce them. She waved her 
hand to them as they said they were glad to 


POLLY THOMPSON’S TEA 63 


see her back again, and then started up the 
stairs ahead of Anna. She hurried along the 
hall until she came to her own room, and then 
turning to her cousin said, Welcome, cousin, 
to Cabot Lodge,” and threw open the door. 
But as she did so, she gave a little scream of 
surprise, and then burst out laughing, ‘‘ Well, 
cousin, walk into my lodge. It isn’t exactly 
as I left it, but I guess Polly Thompson de- 
cided to have her tea to-day, and acted on my 
suggestion to help herself freely to anything 
there was in the room. She has left one or 
two pieces of furniture, but that’s about all. 
And the one thing we want most of all, the 
couch, is gone. However, we’ll go right over 
into Lois Underwood’s room and you can lie 
down there. Then after the tea is over I’ll 
try to restore order and the necessities of living 
for the comfort of my guest. 

Perhaps if you want to see my things first 
hand, it would be better to go right into Polly’s 
room now. I confess I don’t see where she 
possibly could find a place for half the things 
she’s taken from here. The list of the missing 
articles includes couch, tea-table and all its fix- 


64 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


ings, wicker chairs, jardinier, fern, pictures 
from the wall and my dresser, rugs, ivory 
toilet set, books, chafing-dish, and probably as 
many more things that I don’t see at first 
glance. I don’t understand why she didn’t 
have the tea in here, except that it’s not nearly 
as large as her room. You see, hers was orig- 
inally intended for a double, but at the last 
moment Grace Greenwood decided to stay in 
Wellington, and that left Polly in a big room 
without any one to share it with her. So as 
her furniture did not go far toward filling the 
room, she evidently felt the need of mine. 
I’m sorry there isn’t even a chair for you to 
sit in. How do you feel now ? ” 

“ Very much better, Jean, and I’m so inter- 
ested in this tea of Polly’s that I think I’ll not 
lie down, after all, particularly as there is no 
soft, downy couch at hand. But I’ll go with 
you to the tea, and see how grand and festive 
Polly’s room is. Shall I change my waist ? I 
brought a chiffon one in my bag, for I knew 
that after a morning’s shopping this white one 
would be too soiled for dinner. Shall you 
dress up ? ” 


POLLY THOMPSON’S TEA 65 


No, not much. Perhaps Pll wear the dark 
blue silk I bought recently at Hollander’s. I 
wore it to Miss Emerson’s dinner, and haven’t 
had it on since. Hang your coat and hat in 
the closet. Never mind if you have to put the 
rest of the things on the floor for the time 
being; we'll straighten that out later.” 

As Jean went to the closet to take down her 
new blue dress, she seemed to have some dif- 
ficulty in finding that particular gown, and 
finally exclaimed: 

‘‘ Well, Anna, I verily believe Polly is wear- 
ing my new dress. I can’t find it anywhere, 
and there is unmistakable evidence that some 
one has been in this closet. Perhaps in pass- 
ing I ought to explain that in addition to the 
fact that Polly is an inveterate borrower, her 
guests to-day are two girls from a fashionable 
boarding school on the Hudson, and Polly is 
very desirous of making a good impression 
upon them, even though it be in borrowed fin- 
ery. Polly is a dear, but sometimes she carries 
things a little too far without realizing it. 
She’ll have to learn her lesson some day, like 
all. the rest of us. Well, as long as I haven’t 


66 jean CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


my blue dress to wear, I suppose I’ll have to 
find something else.” 

I guess there’s no danger but that you 
have enough to choose from. Please wear 
something pretty, for I do enjoy seeing your 
clothes; they always seem to have a style of 
their own.” 

‘‘ Thanks, Nan, I’ll wear this little striped 
silk that I got in New York when I came 
through there in September. Connie knows 
all the best shops, and, next to you, is the best 
person in the world to go shopping with. Can 
you imagine Connie and Tom with a little 
daughter almost a year old? Won’t my family 
have the grand reunion at Christmas time! 
We’re all going to Tom’s, and Dad and 
Mother and baby may come on for the rest of 
the winter and my graduation. Can I help 
you in any way ? Perhaps we’d better start as 
soon as we can, or the distinguished guests may 
be leaving.” 

As they neared Polly’s room at the end of 
the hall sounds of much laughter and merri- 
ment floated out to them. Jean knocked 
softly on the door. When Polly opened it she 


POLLY THOMPSON’S TEA 67 


looked at Jean and Anna with astonishment 
written large in every feature of her flushed 
face, and then gasped: 

“ Oh, Pm SO glad you’ve come. It seems so 
good to have you back again, Jean, but I didn’t 
expect you to-day. Why didn’t you let us 
know when you were coming?” And she 
ushered the last two arrivals into the room, 
and introduced them to the two guests of 
honor, — who, after all, seemed like very ordi- 
nary young ladies, — and to the dozen or so 
other girls seated round the room. 

It was certainly a most attractive tea, and 
all that the most fastidious could have desired. 
Jean marveled at the transformation of the 
room and at the calmness with which Polly 
dispensed her hospitality. She made a strik- 
ing picture in Jean’s blue silk dress with a 
string of tiny pearls, — which Jean remem- 
bered belonged to Anne Cockran, — round her 
slender neck, as she presided over the wicker 
tea table with its delicate Minton tea-set and 
heavy Colonial silver. In the center was a 
tall green Japanese vase, and to Jean’s as- 
tonishment it was filled, as usual, with dark red 


68 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


carnations. She concluded they must have 
arrived only a few hours before. Everywhere 
round the room were her things, her treasures, 
even to a certain silver picture frame contain- 
ing the picture of a certain young man. This 
was too much; Polly might have left that; but, 
then, the face of the young man was good to 
look upon, and she could not deny that it did 
show up well on Polly’s new birds’-eye-maple 
dresser. Polly herself was all animation, all 
happiness — and apparently all unconscious of 
the liberties she had taken with Jean’s room. 

After tea and cakes had been passed several 
times, the girls began to depart. Jean and 
Anna went among the first, for they intended 
to call on Mile. Franchant and Miss Emerson 
and others of the faculty whom Anna had en- 
joyed while she was in college. They found 
Mile. Franchant just in the act of preparing 
supper in her own room that night, instead 
of going to the dining-room downstairs. She 
prevailed upon the girls to stay and eat with 
her, although they protested they had been to 
a tea, and could not eat another thing ; but the 
dainty meal she had prepared appealed to them. 


POLLY THOMPSON’S TEA 69 


and they did full justice to it. After they had 
finished Mademoiselle began to tell them of 
her visit the summer before to the home of her 
only brother in Switzerland, and she had so 
many photographs to show them that before 
they realized it, nine o’clock struck, and they 
had made only one of the several calls they had 
planned. 

It was hard, as was always the case with 
Mile. Franchant’s callers, to tear themselves 
away from this charming Frenchwoman, but 
they managed to at last, and went for a few 
moments to Miss Emerson’s. There they 
found several of the faculty, and, as it hap- 
pened, the very ones Anna wished most to see 
again, so they remained until five minutes of 
ten, when the others left. 

At the society house, most of the girls had 
retired, but a few were sitting before the fire 
awaiting Jean’s return. She was glad to in- 
troduce Anna to them, for only the older girls 
knew her by reputation as one of the famous 
old girls back in the days when Gamma Chi 
was first formed. Polly was nowhere to be 
seen. Jean wondered about it, and made up 


70 jean CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


her mind to hunt her up and tell her how much 
they had enjoyed her tea. But first her room 
must be put in order for the night; she did 
hope Polly had brought back the couch and the 
chairs, even if the other things were left until 
morning, or some later date, as most things 
were that Polly ever borrowed. She had been 
keenly disappointed in the afternoon that Anna 
could not see her room in its usual appearance, 
for she was a little proud of it. As she opened 
the door now, however, all her disappointment 
of the afternoon fled. The room was restored 
to perfect order, even to the dark red carna- 
tions in the green vase on the table, and she 
could not find one thing out of place. 

With much delight she ushered Anna in, 
who exclaimed at once, ‘‘ What a transforma- 
tion I I never would have believed it possible. 
Why, that child must have worked every min- 
ute after the girls left her room. I must con- 
gratulate you on the room, Jean; it is perfect, 
no more need be said. I remember telling you 
way back in freshman days that the keynote of 
attractive college rooms was simplicity; and 
this room is the very embodiment of those 


POLLY THOMPSON’S TEA 7^ 

principles I sought to impress upon you. 
Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going straight to 
bed. I suppose that couches haven’t changed a 
bit, and we two are to share that roomy one of 
yours. How it brings dormitory life all back 
to one, and what a happy life it is ! ” 

“ Yes, Nan, that’s our resting-place for to- 
night, but before I join you I want to run down 
to Polly’s room a minute to tell her how much 
we enjoyed her party. Don’t wait for me, for 
sometimes when Polly and I get to talking it 
takes some time to finish all we have to say.” 

The hall was dark, for it was time for lights 
to be out, and as Jean paused in front of 
Polly’s door, she could not see a ray of light. 
Still she knocked softly, and was not surprised 
when a voice told her to come in. There sat 
Polly in her kimono, huddled up by the win- 
dow. 

“ Oh, Jean, I was afraid you wouldn’t come, 
and I wanted to talk with you so badly. I’ve 
waited so long I was about discouraged, but 
I didn’t want to go to your room while you 
had company. Oh, I’m so sorry about this 
afternoon ! I never was so ashamed or so hu- 


72 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


miliated in all my life as I was when you 
came into my room and discovered what I’d 
done. To think that when you’d been gen- 
erous enough to offer me all your best china 
and silver I should have taken everything else 
in the room, even to your clothes and pic- 
tures, and paraded them as my own! Well, 
I’ve learned my lesson, and one I shall never 
forget, and I’ve made a solemn vow never 
again to borrow things. If I haven’t enough 
of my own. I’ll go without! If you’ll only 
forgive me this time and promise to say noth- 
ing about it, I promise you that I’ll try my 
level best to improve in the future. My tea 
was a dismal failure, and I know the girls 
didn’t even look at the room or my dress, and 
they weren’t at all what I thought they’d be, 
and would have enjoyed it just as much if 
I’d had it in my room just as it was without 
doing anything extra. What would they 
think of me if they knew what I really did! 
But I don’t care anything about what they 
think; it’s what you think that really counts.” 

‘‘ Well, Polly, I think that perhaps you did 
borrow a little too much this afternoon, and 


POLLY THOMPSON'S TEA 


73 


that as a general rule borrowing is not a sat- 
isfactory habit, but I also think that you’ve 
broken yourself of the habit now, and that is 
worth more than anything else. I came in to 
tell you how much Anna and I enjoyed the 
tea and meeting the girls, and also to thank 
you for putting everything back so nicely. 
May I ask if you remember when the carna- 
tions came?” 

It was just as I was taking the last thing 
out of your room. Katie brought them up- 
stairs and I felt sure you would want me to 
put them in water; so I took them into my 
own room and put them in the vase you al- 
ways use for them. Speaking of the carna- 
tions, Jean, please don’t tell him about this 
afternoon’s performance, for I know it would 
make him perfectly disgusted with me, and I 
like him so much. 

Oh, by the way, Jean, what do you think 
I found pinned under the lace of your blue silk 
dress? I know I ought not to have seen it, 
but I might as well confess the truth to you. 
Does that little fraternity pin mean anything, 
Jean?” 


74 JEAN CABOP IN CAP AND GOWN 


‘‘Of course not, Polly, but please forget 
that you ever saw it there. Now good-night; 
pleasant dreams,” and Jean was gone before 
Polly could say another word. 


CHAPTER V 


ANNE COCKRAN’S CONTRIBUTION TO THE 
CIRCLE,” AND ITS RESULTS 

J EAN was very much disappointed that 
Elizabeth could not come down for initia- 
tion. Her school duties were so many 
and so difficult that it was out of the ques- 
tion just then, but she promised to come 
later on in the year. Initiation was a grand 
success, and four freshmen and two sopho- 
mores were initiated into the mysteries of 
Gamma Chi. The following week came 
Thanksgiving recess and Rosalie Warner, one 
of the juniors, took Jean and two sophomores, 
Darthia Danielson and Barbara Lane, home 
with her to Brooklyn. 

The Warner family was a large one, and 
one good time followed another during the 
vacation, for Rosalie was determined that the 
girls should enjoy every waking moment from 
Wednesday evening until Monday morning. 
75 


76 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


The girls arrived in Boston again Monday 
noon, and as Jean had no afternoon recita- 
tions, she decided to leave the others and spend 
the afternoon with Natalie Lawton, who, after 
two years in France, was spending this win- 
ter at home. Fortunately she found Natalie 
in, but just on the point of starting for a tea 
and an art exhibit. Nothing would do, there- 
fore, but that Jean must accompany her with 
the promise of returning to the Lawton home 
for dinner. So the two set out for a happy 
time together. 

It was almost nine o’clock when Jean 
reached Gamma Chi House, and stopping for 
a few moments in the living room to greet the 
girls, she hurried to her own room. She was 
very tired after her strenuous four days of 
“ society doings,” and had some lessons to look 
over that evening, as she had recitations every 
hour Tuesday morning. Just as she reached 
her room, the door opened, and Anne Cockran 
came out with an English notebook under one 
arm. As Jean greeted her, Anne’s pale face 
seemed to grow several shades paler, and she 
stammered. 


ANNE’S CONTRIBUTION 


77 


“ Why — Jean — it’s good to see you again. 
Welcome home ! I went into your room to see 
if you’d arrived. Rosalie said you were com- 
ing out early. When I found you weren’t 
there, I used your dictionary a few minutes, 
for I haven’t any, and I needed one for some 
English work that’s due to-morrow. Oh, how 
I hate these everlasting themes! They haunt 
me night and day, and it seems as though there 
was a ways one due, in spite of my efforts. 
This trying to carry two English courses isn’t 
all that it’s cracked up to be.” 

“ You look very tired, Anne; I’m afraid you 
didn’t rest much during vacation.” 

No, I didn’t. I came back Friday after- 
noon to make up some work, but I didn’t get 
much done. I suppose you’ve had one grand 
good time; you always do, no matter where 
you go. I wish I could have you visit me 
sometime, but this living in a hotel the way 
we do rather cuts out that sort of thing. I’ll 
be thankful if Father ever can settle down so 
that we can really live. He’s just started for 
Russia, and probably we won’t see him for a 
year. What kind of a time did you have ? ” 


78 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


Grand/' answered Jean with a tired note 
in her voice, “but if you don't mind I’ll tell 
you about it to-morrow, for I’m dead to the 
world to-night, and I must look over Lit. and 
French. Come in, won’t you? ” 

“No, thank you, Jean; I’ve a lot of work 
to do, too. Good-night," and Anne hurried 
towards her own room. 

After Jean had closed her door, and 
switched on the light she unpacked her suit- 
case, and decided to let the steamer trunk, 
which had preceded her, wait until the next 
day. Partially undressing she put on a warm 
bathrobe, and sat down at her desk to begin 
work. Before long she needed a certain ref- 
erence book which was in her bookcase, and 
in getting it she discovered a dainty white 
handkerchief just in front of the bookcase. 
In one corner she found the embroidered in- 
itials “A. C.," and knew in a minute that 
Anne must have dropped it on her way out. 
Thinking that she might forget all about it if 
she left it until morning to return, she hastened 
over to Anne’s room. Anne thanked her for 
bringing it, but said: 


ANNE’S CONTRIBUTION 


79 


You needn’t have bothered about it to- 
night. But where did you find it? I didn’t 
know I had one with me.” 

It was just in front of my bookcase,” an- 
swered Jean. 

Oh, yes,” broke in Anne as quick as a 
flash, ‘‘ I must have dropped it when I was 
using the dictionary.” 

Probably,” said Jean, but she was a little 
surprised, for Anne’s manner seemed very pe- 
culiar, and it suddenly dawned upon her that 
the dictionary was nowhere near the bookcase, 
but upon her desk. She said nothing, how- 
ever, and quickly returned to her work and 
in a very few moments forgot all about the 
incident. 

A week or two later Jean was sitting before 
the fireplace in the living room reading the 
‘‘ Century ” when Polly Thompson came in 
from an afternoon recitation. 

‘‘ Oh, how comfy you look here, Jean ! ” 
she exclaimed as she flung her hat and coat 
into the nearest chair. “ I guess I’ll read, too. 
The December number of the ‘ Circle ’ is just 
out and I’m dying to get a look at it. They 


8o JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 

say it’s by far the best number this year. 
Isn’t the cover attractive? Becky Crosswaite 
did it. I hear she’s going to give up college 
at the end of this semester and go to the Art 
School in town. She certainly ought to ; she’s 
a peach at this kind of stunt. But, there, I 
mustn’t talk if you want to read.” 

“ Oh, that’s all right, Polly ; I just want to 
finish a continued story I’m reading in this 
magazine, and then I’ll be perfectly willing to 
have you read aloud to me from the ‘ Circle.’ 
I feel just like being read to to-day. You 
look it over, and find something interesting, 
and I’ll be ready to listen by that time.” 

All right,” said Polly, and soon the two 
girls were deep in their reading, and even Polly 
forgot to talk. But it did not last long, for 
just as Jean laid down her magazine Polly 
burst out, “Why, Jean Cabot, what do you 
think? Anne Cockran’s got something in the 
‘ Circle.’ It’s only a short little thing, but who 
ever would have believed Anne could get any- 
thing in? I thought her life was one long 
struggle with English themes. Isn’t she re- 
peating Junior Lit. ? ” 


ANNE’S CONTRIBUTION 


8i 


Yes, she is, but she’s been working pretty 
hard this year, and perhaps she’s doing some 
good work. Read it and let’s see what it is. 
I’m very glad, for it ought to do her a lot of 
good, and I have imagined lately that she was 
getting hopelessly discouraged about her work. 
She came back the day after Thanksgiving to 
do some make-up work, and that’s something 
unheard of for Anne. And then she told me 
only yesterday that she intended to give up 
tennis and basket-ball this year, because she 
found they took up too much time. But on 
with the reading! I’m all excitement about 
it.” 

Then Polly began : “ It’s called, ‘ A Sunset 

from the Willows.’ Why, that doesn’t sound 
a bit like Anne ! I never imagined she stopped 
to look at a sunset in her whole life. If it had 
been, ‘ How I Won My Numerals,’ or ‘ The 
Victories of My Class,’ or something like that. 
I shouldn’t have been surprised, but then, one 
never can tell what Anne will do next; she’s 
as changeable as the wind. Here goes for 
reading of the same.” 

Jean had started a little at the title, but said 


82 jean CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


nothing, since any number of people might 
have been impressed by sunsets from the wil- 
lows and chosen to write about them. But as 
Polly read on, sentence after sentence in her 
clear, fresh voice, it came over Jean with over- 
whelming certainty that she was listening to 
something she had written herself, a long 
while ago perhaps, but she remembered parts 
of it as clearly as though she had written it 
only yesterday. What did it mean? Polly 
had said Anne Cochran’s name was signed to 
it. How could Anne have got possession of 
any of her themes? And if she had, how 
would she have dared to use them and sign 
her own name to them? 

By this time Polly had finished and was ask- 
ing Jean how she liked it, and Jean found her- 
self in some unaccountable manner praising it 
and Anne’s good fortune in having it printed. 
Then she asked Polly to read something else 
in order that she might have time to think it 
out more carefully. Polly read on and on, 
but Jean could not have told afterward one 
word that she read, for she was revolving in 
her mind the fact that just before she left the 


ANNE’S CONTRIBUTION 83 


hill to go to Anna Robertson’s, Anne had asked 
her about her themes in the bookcase. And 
then she remembered the night that she had 
unexpectedly come upon Anne as she was leav- 
ing her room with an English notebook in her 
hand and a very queer expression on her face ; 
and how that same night she had found Anne’s 
handkerchief in front of her bookcase, and 
upon returning it, Anne had said she had prob- 
ably dropped it there when she was using the 
dictionary. Jean knew the dictionary was no- 
where near the bookcase, and she remembered 
now that she had realized that at the time, 
but had given it little thought. And added 
to all this was the fact that Anne had always 
disliked English, and had had a hard time with 
it, especially this, her senior year. She had 
flunked Lit. II the year before, and was try- 
ing to make it up this year along with Lit. I, 
and had about all she could do to keep up 
the written work in both courses. As Eng- 
lish was a required subject, it was necessary 
that she should pass in these courses to grad- 
uate with her class and obtain her much-de- 
sired sheepskin. 


84 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


Jean did not know what to do: if it were 
true that Anne had taken this theme, probably 
she had taken others, and was passing them 
in and receiving credit for work which was 
not hers. Something must be done at once, 
for such dishonesty would not be tolerated if 
it were known. But how was she to go about 
it? First, she must be sure that this was her 
theme; she was practically positive now that 
it was, but she would look over the pile in her 
bookcase, and see if this particular one were 
missing. Miss Whiting, for whom she had 
written the majority of the themes, was in 
Europe, and Miss Stevenson, who was taking 
her place this year, would never have suspected 
that Anne might be using themes that she had 
never written. It had been easy enough, Jean 
could see that now, but she was stunned by 
the thought of Anne’s dishonesty, and she 
knew that upon her fell the unpleasant duty 
of investigation, for it must not go another 
week. 

Polly finished reading, and tried to persuade 
Jean to take a walk with her before dinner, 
but Jean begged off, and asked if she might 


ANNE’S CONTRIBUTION 


85 


borrow the ‘ Circle ’ until Polly returned. 
Then she went up to her room and, locking 
the door, sat down and read “ A Sunset from 
the Willows ” several times. Yes, she was 
sure of it now; it was hers and no question 
about it. She remembered when she had writ- 
ten it, and how, when Miss Whiting passed 
it back to her, she had written in blue pencil 
at the bottom, “ Good. I like this.” What a 
great satisfaction it had been to her at the 
time, for she was just beginning to enjoy her 
theme work. Leaving the magazine on her 
couch, she hurried over to the bookcase and 
took out the great pile of themes, the accumu- 
lation of four years, and searched feverishly 
through the ones she had written sophomore 
year, but she could not find the one she was 
looking for. To be sure she then looked 
through the entire pile, in case it had been mis- 
placed, but it was nowhere to be seen. Then 
she found that several others, which she re- 
membered because of favorable criticisms 
written upon them, were also missing, and she 
was forced to admit to herself that some half- 
dozen had been taken, and although she was 


86 jean CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


not ready at that moment to say by whom, sus- 
picion pointed strongly in one direction. 

As she sat thinking it over, the warning bell 
rang for dinner, and although it did not seem 
as though she could eat, she decided it was 
best to go down, for if she did not, the others 
would wonder at her absence and demand an 
explanation. So, putting the themes back in 
the bookcase, she quickly brushed her hair and 
got into a light dress, and reached the dining 
table even before some of the others. Anne 
was late, and came down in her sailor-suit, 
explaining that she had been up in the Lab. 
all the afternoon and was too tired to change 
her dress. Immediately there came from 
nearly every girl in the dining-room congrat- 
ulations on Anne’s literary ability as shown 
by the article in the ‘‘ Circle.” Anne turned a 
little pale, and asked what it was all about. 

‘‘ Why, haven’t you seen it ? ” asked Dar- 
thia Danielson. ‘‘ The ‘ Circle’s ’ just out to- 
day and you’re in it. One of your themes 
about a sunset from the willows is printed, 
and we’re so proud of your newly discovered 
literary talent that we don’t know what to do. 


ANNE’S CONTRIBUTION 87 


Come, girls, let’s all stand up and give Anne 
three hearty cheers.” 

And thereupon they all arose and cheered 
lustily for Anne, who sat alone staring at one 
and then another in a dazed sort of way. 

Why,” she asked, what do you mean ? 
Something of mine in the ^ Circle Why, I 
didn’t know anything about it. Do let me see 
it. Who’s got a copy ? ” 

Several girls offered to get theirs, but Polly 
Thompson arose and said, ‘‘ Mine’s in the liv- 
ing-room in front of the fireplace; let me get 
it.” 

But in a minute she added, Oh, no, I gave 
it to Jean. Is it in your room, Jean? I’ll 
run up and get it.” 

‘‘Yes, I left it on my couch, Polly; you’ll 
find it right in plain sight.” And in a mo- 
ment Polly was back with the magazine, and 
placed it triumphantly in front of Anne. 

“ There,” she exclaimed, “ look at yourself 
in print. How does it seem to be famous, 
anyway ? ” 

But Anne glanced at the paper before her 
for a moment and said nothing; then after a 


88 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


while she asked, “Who’s faculty editor this 
year? ” 

“ Miss Stevenson,” answered several girls 
together. 

“ Well, that accounts for it, I guess ; I have 
two courses with her this year, and she must 
have handed this over to the other editors 
without saying a word to me, I always 
thought you knew when something of yours 
was to be published.” 

“ No, I guess not,” said Polly, “ unless 
you’re clever enough to be asked to contribute. 
The faculty have a way of handing over work 
which they think is worth publishing.” 

“ Oh,” said Anne faintly, “ I’ve never had 
much experience in lit. work, so I didn’t know 
just what they did do.” 

“ You’re not very enthusiastic over it, seems 
to me,” remarked Lois Underwood. “If it 
were I, you couldn’t touch me with a ten- foot 
pole. I’ve been just crazy to have something 
of mine appear, but they’ve scorned everything 
I ever attempted except that little sonnet I 
wrote sophomore year. Keep it up>, Anne, 
perhaps you’ll make your fortune at it. 


ANNE’S CONTRIBUTION 89 

There’s lots more money in writing than 
basket-ball.” 

But Anne didn’t enthuse much, and hardly 
spoke during the meal except to answer some 
question addressed to her, and left the table 
among the first. Jean had noticed that she 
ate but little, and seemed so ill at ease that she 
pitied the girl with all her heart, and was try- 
ing to decide what was best to be done. One 
thing she had determined upon: that for two 
days she would say nothing to Anne about the 
matter, but if at the end of that time Anne 
had said or done nothing, she should take the 
matter into her own hands. After dinner she 
did not go up to her room, for there was a 
meeting of Student Government in College 
Hall at half past seven, and she had promised 
to stop at Wellington for Fliss Woodbury. 
How glad she was that Anne was not on 
Student Government, and that she did not hold 
a class office, for she realized that these were 
positions of honor, and Anne was no longer 
eligible for such places. 

When she reached home from the meeting, 
there was no sign of Anne, and her room was 


90 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


dark. The next day she went to recitations 
with a heavy heart, and sat beside Anne in 
French class; but Anne hardly looked at her, 
and seemed unusually absorbed in the trans- 
lation. After lunch there was a Glee Club 
rehearsal, for she was accompanist this year; 
then came basket-ball practice in the Gym, and 
finally she took a long walk by herself until 
dinner time. In the evening she went with 
Barbara Lane to a house play at Merton. 
The first day of waiting was over, and not a 
word from Anne. All the next day it was the 
same: recitations took up the morning; the 
afternoon was spent in town with her music 
lessons; she had dinner with Cousin Anna; 
and at night met Fraulein Weimar and ten of 
the girls with whom she regularly attended 
the symphony concerts. 

It was very late when she reached Gamma 
Chi House, and as she was alone, she crept up 
the stairs as softly as possible in order not to 
awaken any one. She saw a faint light com- 
ing from Anne’s room, but she did not intend 
to stop to-night; to-morrow would be time 
enough for that, and she had not quite made 


ANNE’S CONTRIBUTION 


91 


up her mind as to what she should say. She 
opened and closed her own door very softly, 
and felt confident that no one had heard her. 
She began to undress slowly, but she was nqt 
at all sleepy, — the music had been wonderful, 
and the soloist had set her to wondering if it 
ever would be possible for her, after years of 
study perhaps, to draw such melody from any 
instrument, and make glad the hearts of her 
listeners. It was worth trying for, even 
though it meant hard work and the sacrifice 
of personal pleasures. The world looked big 
and happy to-night, and why should she let 
trivial little things like English themes trouble 
her? 

Just as she sat down at her dressing-table 
to brush out her hair for the night, her eye 
caught sight of a piece of folded paper under- 
neath her brushes. Opening it, she found it 
was a note from Anne which read: 

Dear Jean : Please come to my room be- 
fore you go to bed to-night. Never mind how 
late it is. I’ll be up. I have something very 
important to talk about with you. 

Anne.’’ 


92 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


Jean read the note through twice, and then 
finished brushing her hair, for she wanted to 
be in perfect control of herself before she be- 
gan talking. Then slipping on a long silk 
kimona, she put out her light and stole noise- 
lessly to Anne’s room. She entered without 
knocking, and found Anne sitting at the table 
with six themes spread out before her. She 
had been crying — Jean was sure of that — 
but now she was perfectly calm, and her white 
face in the semi-darkness startled Jean. 

“ Well, Anne, I’ve come. You sent for me. 
I’m sorry it’s so late, but, you see, to-night was 
symphony, and it’s always midnight by the 
time we get to our rooms. Oh, the concert 
was wonderful ! I wish you cared for music 
as much as I do; I’d love to talk it over with 
you. But you said there was something im- 
portant you wanted to talk over with me. I’m 
ready.” 

Anne did not say anything for a moment, 
but then pointing to the latest copy of the 
Circle ” and the six themes spread out be- 
fore her, she said in a low voice, There 
really isn’t much to say, Jean. There they 


ANNE’S CONTRIBUTION 


93 


are, you know what Eve done. You knew two 
days ago when the ‘ Circle ’ came out that I 
never wrote that theme about the sunset. You 
knew it was yours, and that I’d stolen it.” 

Jean winced a little as Anne emphasized the 
word stolen,” but Anne continued, ‘‘Yes, 
stolen, that’s the only word. I’m a thief and 
there’s nothing else for me to do but confess 
it. It’s a little thing to say I’m sorry, but I’m 
going to do it first, and then tell you the rest 
of the story. Of course I was as surprised 
as you to see the theme printed in the ‘ Circle,’ 
for I knew nothing about it imtil the girls told 
me Tuesday night at dinner. If I had known 
before, something might have been done, and 
this would never have happened. You know 
English has always been hard jfor me, and I 
cut so much last year and gave so much time 
to athletics that I flunked the course, and had 
to take it over this year along with a math, 
course, as you know. Well, all the fall I tried 
pretty hard to make good, but there were so 
many other things to do that I was getting 
behind again. Then I got two faculty warn- 
ings, and things looked desperate. 


94 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


‘‘ When you were sick and went over to 
Mrs. Robertson’s, you told me about your 
themes, and so after you had gone, I remem- 
bered what you said to us about helping our- 
selves to anything in your room, and I went 
in one night and took a theme. It was the 
very one that was printed, but Miss Steven- 
son said nothing to me about it, except that it 
was good. I knew this was her first year 
here, and that she’d never recognize any of 
your old themes, so I felt perfectly safe. 

“ Two other times while you were gone I 
took themes and passed them in, and then when 
I came back for extra work at Thanksgiving, 
I got desperate again and took three. You 
remember that Monday night when you found 
me in your room, and later brought me my 
handkerchief which I had dropped? I told 
you I had been using your dictionary, but of 
course that was a lie; I had the sixth theme 
there in my notebook, and had read several 
others which I intended to take at the first 
opportunity. I heard you coming up the hall, 
and was afraid you’d catch me then. I in- 
tended to put back the themes as soon as I 


ANNE’S CONTRIBUTION 


95 


used them, but I forgot it until it was too late, 
and so here they are. 

I’ve suffered, Jean, more than you know 
anything about, and I’m proud, and I hate to 
tell you this. I had just about made up my 
mind to leave college without ever seeing you 
again, but I couldn’t bring myself to do that. 
So after thinking it all over, I have finally 
made up my mind what to do. I’m going to 
Miss Stevenson and tell her just what I’ve told 
you, and I’m willing to make an open confes- 
sion in the ‘ Circle ’ to the whole college. I 
see I cannot continue with my two English 
courses and math, and all the other things, so 
I might as well drop them, and leave the senior 
class, and go back with the juniors where I 
really belong. I wasted last year, and I started 
to waste this one; but I see my mistake, and 
I’m willing to take the consequences. I want 
to ask your forgiveness before I do anything 
else.” 

‘‘Oh, Anne!” cried Jean. “How could 
you do it ? I’m so sorry, and our senior year, 
too. But of course I forgive you, and I’m so 
glad you told me about it. You’ve been so 


96 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


different all the year, and I’ve puzzled so hard 
to discover the reason. But now I see; you 
were worrying over your work so much that 
you forgot everything else, — your friendships, 
your society and your college, and we’ve all 
suffered together. But, Anne, I can’t have you 
tell this to the whole college, and bring dis- 
grace upon old Gamma Chi, which we love 
so much. Why need anything be said ? I am 
willing you should tell Miss Stevenson, if you 
insist upon it, only on the condition that she 
keep our secret; but no one else need know 
about the themes. It would be a shame for 
you to drop back with the juniors, and I see 
no need of it, if you will work harder than 
you’ve ever worked before. I’ll help you 
every minute that I can on English and you 
can tutor in math. I have it, Anne ! You’ve 
wanted me to room with you all the year, and 
I’ve been so selfish I wouldn’t, but now let’s 
change rooms with Polly, who really is crazy 
for a single, and you and I can take her big 
room, and live and work together for the rest 
of the year. We couldn’t let a Gamma Chi 
girl drop back, just because she wouldn’t work 



“I've suffered, Jean, more than you know anything about. 

Page 95. 



ANNE’S CONTRIBUTION 


97 


hard enough. Tell me if it isn’t worth while, 
Anne?” 

‘‘ Oh, Jean, you’re too good; I don’t deserve 
it. I’ve been hateful to you all the year, and 
always jealous of Elizabeth from freshman 
year. Thank you for offering to help me. 
ril accept that, but I couldn’t possibly think of 
turning you out of your room to live with a 
thief like me. You don’t know how I appre- 
ciate your generous offer, but I just can’t do 
it.” 

'‘Yes, you can, Anne; we’ll say we were 
lonesome living alone, and no one need know 
anything more about our affairs. We’ll work 
together every spare minute until mid-year’s, 
and see what we can do in the way of English 
work. So please say you will live with me, 
and I’ll tell Polly about it in the morning, and 
we’ll begin moving right after breakfast.” 

" Oh, I can’t, Jean; it’s asking too much of 
you! I don’t deserve it, but I’ll try my level 
best all the same by myself, and perhaps I’ll 
come out all right.” 

"No, I insist upon becoming your room- 
mate, Anne, and I shall go ahead with my 


98 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


plans, and expect you to follow suit. You 
look as though you needed some sleep. I 
think you’d better get right into bed, and stop 
worrying. I’ll take these troublesome themes 
back with me, and nothing more need ever 
be said.” 

'‘Jean, you’re doing this for Gamma Chi, 
I know, and from now on I shall be as loyal 
a member as you, and work for it and Ashton 
every day for the rest of the year. We’ll be 
room-mates under those conditions. I shall 
see Miss Stevenson the first thing to-morrow, 
and confess the whole thing to her, and ask 
her what she thinks it is best for me to do. 
I feel as though I owed you and her a public 
apology in the ‘ Circle.’ ” 

"Not that, of all things, Anne; there is no 
need of it. I am sure Miss Stevenson will 
feel as I do in the matter. She will know what 
it has cost you to make the confession to her, 
and, I am sure, will think it is better to avoid 
the publicity any such apology would make. 
I leave all that to her good judgment, but I 
hope she will accept your private apology and 
your determination to do good, honest work 


ANNE’S CONTRIBUTION 


99 


in her classes from now until June. It’s 
striking two, and we must get some sleep or 
neither of us will be good for anything to- 
morrow. Remember to-morrow is our mov- 
ing day and mum’s the word.” 

It was with no little surprise the next day 
that Gamma Chi House heard the astounding 
news that Jean and Anne were to room to- 
gether for the rest of the year in Polly Thomp- 
son’s big room, while Polly was to move her 
Lares and Penates into what had been Jean’s 
single. There was still more surprise several 
days later when the college weekly printed the 
following notice : 

“We beg leave to announce that through a 
misunderstanding on the part of those most 
closely connected with the same, the ‘ Circle ’ 
of December, made a slight mistake in its col- 
umns. A contribution entitled ‘ A Sunset 
from the Willows ’ bore the signature of Anne 
Cockran; it should have borne that of Jean 
Cabot. Notice of the same will also be printed 
in the next issue of the ‘ Circle.’ 

“The Editors.” 

But no one thought of connecting the two 
events in any way; and after a few days of 


lOO jean CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


surprise and speculation, the matter dropped 
entirely out of the minds of all, except per- 
haps of the three who had been most vitally 
concerned in it, and even with them it was a 
matter only to be occasionally thought of, 
never mentioned. 


CHAPTER VI 


CALLERS 

I T did not take long for Jean and Anne to 
become accustomed to their new sur- 
roundings, and although each had her 
separate interests they found many hours to 
spend together in hard study. Anne seemed 
to have gained new heart, and was working 
with a determination which surprised Jean, 
even though her belief in her had been strong 
enough to justify the experiment. Hitherto 
Anne’s work seemed to have lacked system, 
but now there were regular hours for study 
and recreation, and she persisted in allowing 
nothing to interfere with the programme which 
she had drawn up and conspicuously posted 
over her desk. To be sure, it was not always 
smooth sailing, and there were times when 
both girls felt sorely tempted to do and say 
things,” but Jean remembered that she was re- 
sponsible for the change, and must make a 


lOI 


102 jean CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


supreme effort to win out, no matter what it 
cost her personally. 

One evening about the middle of December 
the two girls had gone to their room for some 
good hard work on a French test they were 
to have the following day. They had donned 
bathrobes and bed-slippers to be really com- 
fortable, and locked their door against any 
possible intrusion of the other girls. For 
about an hour they read through some trans- 
lation, and then pausing for a little rest be- 
gan to talk of the Christmas holidays which 
were rapidly approaching. Anne and her 
mother were going to Philadelphia to visit 
Anne’s married sister, and Jean to New York 
for a family party at her brother Tom’s. 
Each girl had so much to anticipate and so 
much to tell the other that French might have 
been entirely forgotten, if Jean had not cut 
short her own remarks with, ‘‘ Well, Anne, 
this will never do ; we must finish this chapter 
before nine, for there are three more, besides 
the fifty rules in grammar, and I refuse to stay 
up all night, for all the French exams, in the 
world.” So once more they opened their 


CALLERS 


103 


books and were hard at it when there came a 
knock at the door. 

Let's not answer," whispered Anne. It's 
probably some of the girls, and if they once 
get in, they'll never know enough to go out 
until warning bell, and we simply haven't time 
to waste on them to-night." 

All right," said Jean, and they kept so still 
no one could have heard a sound. But when 
the knock was repeated three times, and finally 
Katie's voice said softly, ‘‘ Are ye there. Miss 
Cabot? " Jean went to the door and unlocking 
it confronted Katie. 

‘‘ Pardon my's interrupting ye, but there's 
two gintlemin to see you and Miss Cockran. 
Them's their cards. I showed 'em into the 
living room, and they be waiting for yez." 

Jean looked at the cards, and read aloud, 
Mr. Robert Channing Bowker " and ‘‘ Mr. 
Frederick Allen Bacon," and then turning to 
Katie she said quickly, ‘‘ Yes, Katie, tell them 
we'll be down immediately." 

As soon as the door closed on the ever- 
obliging Irish maid, Jean gasped to Anne: 
‘‘ Why, what ever put it into those fellows' 


104 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


heads to come out here to-night and at this 
hour? I saw Bob only day before yesterday, 
and he said nothing about it? He’s promised 
to bring Freddie Bacon out here for a long 
time, but I didn’t believe he would ever get 
round to it. But how could they have come? 
There’s no train at this time of night.” 

“ Hasn’t Mr. Bacon a machine? ” asked 
Anne. I think I remember you’re saying 
something about it once. Probably they came 
in that. But I’m so sorry they chose to-night 
of all nights, for I ought to be studying. 
How would it do for you to go down alone, 
and take my apologies? I’ll help you get 
ready, and then I can finish my French in a 
little while.” 

“ No, that won’t do at all,” protested Jean, 
“ for Bob is bringing Freddie out on purpose 
to introduce him to you, so that later on we 
can have some * foursomes ’ at the ball games. 
I thought perhaps you’d like to invite him 
over for Glee Club. I’ve invited Bob, and if 
Freddie came, we four could do lots of stunts 
together. No, you’ve simply got to go down 
and, moreover, you must look your prettiest. 


CALLERS 


105 


so as to make a favorable impression upon the 
fastidious Mr. Bacon.’’ 

‘‘ Very well, I suppose I’ll have to if you 
say so. What shall I wear? Oh, I do hope 
they won’t stay late, for I must finish that 
work to-night.” 

Don’t you worry about that. We’ll finish 
it all right, and I’ll give Bob the hint to leave 
at half-past nine. It will serve him right for 
not letting me know beforehand. There’s no 
excuse with a telephone right here in the house. 
Please wear that pink gown; it’s awfully be- 
coming, and I’ll wear my white. Hurry as 
fast as you can, and I’ll help you when you 
get ready to have your dress fastened.” 

Although they hurried as fast as they could, 
it took them a long time to get ready. Things 
would not go righll. Anne put on her only 
clean pair of silk stockings, and discovered a 
conspicuous hole in the heel. She had no silk 
to mend it with, and dashed down to Polly’s 
room to get some. Polly was not there, so 
she hurried into Lois Underwood’s room, and 
finally got her to furnish the much needed silk. 
Having mended the stockings, she made a 


io6 jean CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


frantic search for her pumps, with the result 
that only one could be located. Finally with 
Jean’s assistance the missing one was discov- 
ered under the farthest comer of Anne’s 
couch, but, sad to relate, the bow was missing, 
and there was nothing to do but tear off the 
bow from the other pump to make them ap- 
pear like mates. Then her hair, which usually 
accommodated itself very readily to her touch, 
refused so to do this night, and the thick 
masses were put up and taken down three 
times before Anne was anywhere near satis- 
fied, and even then she protested that she never 
saw her hair look worse. When she was at 
last ready to slip on the dainty pink dress, 
Jean exclaimed: “Why, Anne, dear, you 
never can wear that! There’s a great tear 
right in the back of the skirt.” 

“ Oh, I remember,” said Anne, “ I tore it 
at the French play last week, and put it away 
without mending it. What luck! Well, I’ll 
put on my brown velvet, that looks good 
enough, and I can fasten that myself and save 
time. Mother just sent me a wonderful new 
Irish crochet collar to wear with it, and I’ve 


CALLERS 


107 


been saving it for some such occasion. What 
time is it? Have I been awfully long? I 
never saw anything like the way things go 
wrong when you want to hurry. You’ve been 
ready for ages. I wish you’d go down and 
I’ll come just as soon as I can. Won’t you, 
please ? ” 

No, I’d rather not, I think it will be bet- 
ter for us to go together. You’re almost 
ready, let me help you with those hooks and 
eyes. Now we’re ready, and you’ve hurried 
so you’ve got more color than you’ve had for 
weeks. I’m proud of you. Never mind if 
we have kept them waiting; it will do them 
good. They’d have got more conceited than 
ever, if we’d rushed down the minute their 
cards were handed to us. Speaking of cards, 
Bob’s getting awfully formal all of a sudden. 
I don’t know when he’s sent up a card before. 
Perhaps it’s because Mr. Frederick Allen Ba- 
con is with him. I must say their cards are 
not particularly clean for people who are 
otherwise so fastidious. This one of Bob’s 
is positively a disgrace for any gentleman.” 

Just as the clock struck nine the two girls 


io8 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


walked slowly down the stairs and on the land- 
ing which commanded a view of the living 
room Anne stopped Jean. ‘‘Wait one mo- 
ment, Jean. I see part of one of them, let 
me get a better view. All I can see is a back, 
but I’m sure it’s not Bob’s; it’s not broad 
enough. From this distance, though, he’s 
very attractive, and has dark curly hair. Now 
I’m ready ; you . go first, and I’ll follow de- 
murely after.” 

As the girls entered the room, the two gen- 
tlemen arose and came toward them, the taller 
one bowing almost to the floor several times, 
and then extending his hand, he began: 

“Ah, good evening, Miss Cabot and Miss 
Cockran; charmed to see you. Allow me to 
present my most honored friend, Mr. Fred- 
erick Allen Bacon.” 

Jean held the hand that was extended to her 
and exclaimed, “ So glad to see you — but 
who are you? I’ve never seen you before. I’m 
sure of that, and there’s a mistake somewhere, 
but perhaps you will explain.” 

The young gentlemen twirled their mous- 
taches, coughed, and seemed just a bit em- 


CALLERS 


109 


barrassed. But then Jean suddenly ex- 
claimed : 

“ Oh, you wretches, you horrible old de- 
ceivers ! It’s Polly Thompson and Rosalie 
Warner! We’ll have our revenge on you. 
Here we’ve wasted an hour dressing up for 
you, and we ought to be upstairs this very mo- 
ment studying for our French exam. Why 
didn’t you take some other night to call ? ” 
And Jean could say no more, for she burst 
out laughing in spite of her momentary dis- 
pleasure. 

‘‘ Why, to-night was the very time. We’ve 
been planning to do it for some time, but were 
waiting for a favorable opportunity. Per- 
haps you will remember that at dinner to-night 
you two were saying very positively that noth- 
ing on earth could keep you from studying 
French. Rosalie and I thought we’d see how 
little a thing it would take to make you change 
your minds. After all, French doesn’t seem 
to count much when Mr. Robert Bowker and 
his Harvard friends come to call.” 

But, girls,” interrupted Jean with a blush, 
where did you ever get such good-looking 


no jean CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


evening clothes and such perfect makeups? 
You’re the best-looking men I ever saw, I 
mean, of course, considering the fact that 
you’re only girls. If I hadn’t known that you 
were not Bob and Mr. Bacon, I should never 
have suspected. But where did you get their 
cards? Come, explain; I admit that you’re 
very clever, and that you have the laugh on us, 
but I want to know more about it.” 

“ Why, you see, these clothes belong to the 
Dramatic Club. Rosalie is on their committee 
for the next play, and she was telling me about 
what a fine lot of costumes they liad on hand. 
All of a sudden we decided that we’d avail 
ourselves of the opportunity, and borrow some 
of them for some fun of our own. We spent 
a whole afternoon getting the things we 
wanted, but finally decided we had enough to 
completely disguise ourselves as ‘ perfect 
gents.’ I know Katie didn’t suspect, and since 
we’ve been sitting here several of the girls 
have gone up and downstairs and looked in at 
us admiringly.” 

‘‘Yes, but how about the cards?. Where 
did you get those ? ” 


CALLERS 


III 


Oh, I really stole those,” said Polly with a 
smile, ‘‘ one day when you sent me to your 
desk for something, I saw a pile of old cards 
right out in plain sight, and I helped myself to 
these two, knowing that some time I might 
want to. use them. You don’t mind now, do 
you, as long as I have returned them ? ” 

‘‘Why, no, I don’t know that I do,” said 
Jean good-naturedly. “ You’ve surely had a 
lot of fun out of it, and haven’t done any harm 
as far as I can see, except that you’ve kept us 
from studying for an hour. Now if you don’t 
mind we’ll ask to be excused, and go back to 
our evening’s work.” 

“ Oh,” said Polly, “ if we really make as 
good-looking men as you say we do, would 
you mind taking our pictures? I’ve got some 
flashlight powder upstairs, and it won’t take a 
minute to get it.” 

“ That will be fine,” said Anne, “ but would 
you mind if Jean took the pictures and I didn’t 
stay, I really ought not to give the time.” 

“ Oh, do,” said Polly, “ you look awfully 
fetching to-night in that new gown, and I think 
the pictures will be better if you are in one 


1 12 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


and Jean in the other, to offset the beauty of 
us men, you understand.” 

‘‘ Well, if you’ll hurry. I’ll stay to oblige 
you.” 

So Polly went up to her room for the camera 
and the flashlight powders, and came back 
with a rush to begin operations. They had 
some difflculty in choosing the best place for 
the pictures to be taken, and in arranging the 
camera, but finally everything was satisfactory, 
and Jean took the first picture with Anne 
standing between the two “men.” Then 
Anne made her preparations to take the second 
picture, put out the electric light, and touched 
a match to the powder. There was the ex- 
pected explosion and the picture was taken, but 
something else happened. After the lights 
were turned on, the girls smelled something 
burning, and discovered that some muslin cur- 
tains just back of where Anne had been stand- 
ing were ablaze, and the rug on the floor was 
smoking in several places. 

“Why, Anne!” screamed Jean, “you’re 
afire, too! Look at your skirt; pull it off 


CALLERS 


113 

quickly! Polly, take up the rug and throw it 
out on the piazza and Rosalie and Pll take the 
curtains.” 

The fire had not made much headway, and 
the two girls easily pulled down the curtains 
and buried them in a heavy rug near at hand. 
Polly ran to the kitchen, and brought the ex- 
cited Katie, and they threw pails of water on 
the Turkish rug on the piazza. Anne got out 
of her dress, and submitted it to the same 
treatment. The smoke, and the noise had 
summoned nearly every girl and the matron to 
the room, and the whole story had to be gone 
over several times. There was no great darn- 
age done except to one pair of curtains, the 
rug, Anne’s new velvet dress, and Polly’s bor- 
rowed masculine attire, which was pretty much 
soaked with water and dirt, but it had caused 
great excitement and worry on the part of 
everybody in the house, and they were thank- 
ful that there was still a roof above their heads 
and no great loss to any one. 

It took some time to restore order and quiet, 
but between ten and eleven the four principals 


1 14 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


in the dramatics went up to second floor. It 
was a rather sober little Polly who bade good- 
night to the others, as she said : 

“ Don’t worry, girls, Fll pay all the bills, if 
it takes my allowance for the rest of the year. 
I’m thankful to get out of it this easy; the 
whole house might have burned down, but it’s 
been rather expensive calling, hasn’t it ? Don’t 
sit up too late studying that French. You’ll 
get through just as easily if you don’t. I’m 
thankful I haven’t an exam, to-morrow. I’d 
flunk it sure. I’m so excited I’m afraid I 
can’t sleep a wink, and maybe later if I don’t 
feel better, I’ll come down and stay with you 
people.” 

'‘All right,” said Jean, “come along, but 
don’t try any more disguises. Come just as 
you are, and without your camera. Don’t 
worry ; things might have been lots worse, and 
you have the satisfaction of knowing you 
played a good joke on us, even though it was a 
little costly. Good-night.” 

“ Oh, Polly,” called out Anne as Polly went 
down the hall, “ do be sure to save me one of 


CALLERS 1 15 

the pictures when you have them printed. I 
want one for my memorabilia.” 

Don’t mention it, Anne, you can have them 
all. I don’t want to ever see one of them. 
I’m ready to give my camera away. Want 
it?” 

Surely, if you don’t change your mind in 
the morning. Good-night,” and then the 
house settled down to the customary quiet of 
the night. 


CHAPTER VII 


THE SUBSTITUTE TEACHER 

T he girls were hardly back from the 
Christmas holidays and settled down 
to serious work again when there 
came the startling news that three girls in Eliot 
Hall, the new freshman dormitory, were down 
with diphtheria and had been ordered to the 
hospital. The next day four girls in Welling- 
ton showed symptoms of the same disease, and 
the situation became so serious that Miss 
Emerson, fearing an epidemic, decided to close 
the college until all danger was over. Girls 
hurried away as fast as trains could take them ; 
those who lived at some distance, for the most 
part, accepted invitations from their more for- 
tunate friends, and in a few hours the campus 
was as deserted as on a summer’s day. 

Although any number of girls had urged 
Jean to go home with them, she refused them 
all, and telegraphed Elizabeth that she would 

ii6 


THE SUBSTITUTE TEACHER 117 


reach Wilton Junction on the evening train, 
and hoped that some one would be there to 
meet her. She had not seen any of the Fair- 
fax family since early September, and was 
glad of this opportunity to visit them, although 
she pitied the girls who were left behind so 
very sick, and those who had been exposed and 
consequently placed in quarantine. 

Occasionally on the long journey of the 
afternoon she wondered if they had received 
her telegram, for if not, of course there would 
be no one to meet her and it was a long drive 
to Newburgh. Perhaps it would be impossi- 
ble to hire any one to drive her until the next 
morning; and the prospect of hunting for a 
place to stay over night in a strange little town 
did not appeal very strongly to her. Perhaps 
she had been a little hasty in her decision, but 
she was longing for a sight of Elizabeth, and 
it was worth running the risk. But her fears 
were all in vain, for as she alighted from the 
train at the Junction, and tugged her heavy 
suit-case round to the entrance of the station, 
with great joy she saw Dr. Fairfax just driv- 
ing up in the old, familiar sleigh. Jean had 


ii8 jean CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


expected Elizabeth, too, but said nothing about 
it until after she had been tucked in beside the 
doctor, and they had started on their way. 
Then her curiosity could not be held in an- 
other moment, and she said : 

Oh, Dr. Fairfax, where is Elizabeth? I 
can hardly wait to see her. When did you get 
my telegram, and were you awfully surprised ? 
I couldn’t stopdo tell you the details, but Miss 
Emerson feared an epidemic of diphtheria and 
closed college. I had to go somewhere, and 
risked your wanting to see me up here. Can 
you stand me for a week or two ? ” 

“ So many questions at once, Jean! But I 
think you want to know first about Beth. She 
was disappointed not to drive down with me to 
meet you, but I couldn’t allow it Fact is, 
she’s been having a hard cold all the week, but 
wouldn’t give in to it, and when she came 
home this afternoon, she was all tired out, 
and had a little temperature, so I put my foot 
down good and hard and made her go to bed 
and forbade her to get up until I gave her per- 
mission. But she’s so excited at the prospect 
of seeing you that I almost expect to see her 


THE SUBSTITUTE TEACHER 119 


at the window when we drive into the yard. 
She’s been working so hard all winter she’s 
thoroughly tired out, and just in the right con- 
dition for a cold to get a strong hold on her. 
But it’ll do her good to see you, for although 
she doesn’t say much, I know she gets pretty 
lonesome sometimes on this great wind-blown 
hill of ours without any of you girls. It’s 
a fact, there aren’t many young people here, 
so I don’t care how long college is closed. We 
all of us need you just as long as you can stay. 
It’s like a breath of springtime to see you 
again.” 

There was not a silent moment during the 
eight-mile drive, but the doctor did most of the 
talking. Jean was content to sit back, 
wrapped in the great fur robes, and listen and 
think. Although she had been over the road 
many times now, in all seasons of the year, it 
always had a new charm for her, and she loved 
it, especially on sharp, wintry nights like this, 
when the sleigh slid rapidly over the well trod- 
den snow, and the moon and the stars lighted 
them on their way. 

They were not long in reaching home, but 


120 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


Elizabeth was not at the window to greet them. 
Once in the house Jean bounded up the narrow 
stairs, to find Elizabeth lying flushed and rest- 
less, but so glad to see her. Dr. Fairfax 
would not allow them to talk long, so they 
left the most important things until morning. 
As the next day was Saturday, Elizabeth could 
stay at home, but she would not have been able 
to go to school had it not been a holiday, for 
although she was no worse, every one felt sure 
that the wisest thing for her to do was to re- 
main in bed. Jean spent the entire day tell- 
ing her all the news of college and reading to 
her in between times from some new books she 
had slipped into her suit-case at the last mo- 
ment. It was the same on Sunday, but about 
noon as Elizabeth seemed to lose interest in 
what Jean was reading, Jean said: 

Beth, dear, something is worrying you ; 
you arenT listening to a thing Em reading. 
What is it? Can I do anything to help you? ’’ 

Elizabeth said nothing at first, but after a 
moment exclaimed with a little choking sob: 

“ Oh, if s the school. I can't go back to- 
morrow morning. I don’t feel well enough. 


THE SUBSTITUTE TEACHER 12 1 


I have tried so hard to get well, but it’s no use. 
And I know Father won’t let me get out of this 
bed until I’m better. What shall I do ? 
There’s nobody in town to ask to take my 
place, and Mr. Jennison can’t do all my work 
and his own, too. It’s hard enough when I’m 
there. If there was only some one who could 
go in for a day or two, for I know I’ll be all 
right again by that time.” 

‘‘Oh, Elizabeth, why can’t I teach? You 
can tell me what to do, and I’ll carry out your 
directions to the letter. I admit I don’t know 
much, but if you’ll help me I think I can keep 
things running until you’re able to go back. 
It’ll be a great experience for me.” 

“ But, Jean, I wouldn’t want you to do it. 
It’s terribly hard ; some of the boys are rough 
and hard to manage, and don’t care about try- 
ing to learn anything; and Mr. Jennison is 
fault-finding and never seems satisfied ; and the 
room and board are dreadfully poor at Mrs. 
Wakeman’s. It would all be so different from 
anything you have been used to that you 
couldn’t stand it.” 

“ How you talk, Elizabeth ! Of course I 


122 jean CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


can stand anything you have to stand, and Tm 
going to try it, anyway. If the big boys run 
me out of school. I’ll come back and let Mr. 
Jennison run things himself. What shall I 
have to teach? You can give me some moth- 
erly advice right now, and then let me look 
over to-morrow’s lessons.” 

I suppose I’ll have to give in, for if you’ve 
made up your mind to go, nothing on earth 
can stop you, I know. Well, I have English 
and French and Latin and bookkeeping and 
astronomy.” 

“ Heavens, is that all ? Why, I never read 
a line about bookkeeping or astronomy in my 
whole life. What are they like? ” 

‘‘ Don’t worry about them, dear. There are 
only two or three pupils in the classes. The 
bookkeeping class know what to do without 
any more instructions just now, and they can 
work ahead by themselves. And you can read 
up the lessons in astronomy. It’s very sim- 
ple.” 

“ Yes, but suppose they ask me questions 
I don’t know anything about ? ” 

They won’t; they’re not bright enough for 


THE SUBSTITUTE TEACHER 123 


that, but if by any chance they do, just tell 
them you don’t know, or else make up an an- 
swer. My books are all over on the table; if 
you’ll bring them here I’ll show you where the 
lessons are. You’ll have to make an early 
start in the morning. Father generally leaves 
by half past six, for it takes more than an 
hour to drive over, and school begins at quar- 
ter past eight. He can take you to Mrs. 
Wakeman’s first, and show you your luxurious 
quarters. Oh, I forgot to tell you that Mr. 
Jennison lives there, too, so perhaps you’ll 
meet him at the house, for he never starts for 
school until the last minute. Anyway, I’ll 
have Father go up with you to the Academy 
an introduce you to 'His Majesty ’ and see 
that you get started all right. I think it’s the 
worst kind of luck for you to come up here 
for a good visit, and then have to go away 
and teach school; it’s almost as bad as staying 
at college and having diphtheria.” 

" Nonsense, Elizabeth, I sha’n’t mind it at 
all; in fact I’m quite keen about it. I think 
it’s the best kind of a lark. Imagine the satis- 
faction of being able to boast in the years to 


124 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


come of my first pedagogical successes in 
Whitestone Academy.” 

And so it happened that on Monday morn- 
ing very early Dr. Fairfax and Jean bundled 
into the big sleigh and started for Whitestone, 
some seven miles the other side of Newburgh. 
During the ride school was not mentioned, and 
not until Dr. Fairfax had left her at the old 
Academy building in charge of the principal, 
did Jean’s courage waver. But it must be con- 
fessed that as she stepped into the assistant’s 
tiny room with its huge wood stove, its 
cracked, age-begrimed blackboards, and its 
hand-carved seats and settees, a queer feeling 
came over her, and something hard rose up in 
her throat. Several early arrivals peeped in 
at the door with curiosity settled fixedly upon 
their red, soap-shiny faces. If Jean had 
yielded to her first impulse she would have 
made a rush for her hat and coat, and dashed 
after Dr. Fairfax, who was already walking 
slowly down the creaky old stairs. 

But after a moment that feeling was gone, 
and in a dazed sort of way she was listening 
to what the man before her was saying. It 


THE SUBSTITUTE TEACHER 125 


took but a glance to see that he was displeased 
to have anything so unexpected break in upon 
the established routine of his school, and he 
did not try to conceal it. But there was some- 
thing in Jean^s attitude toward him and her 
work that showed him he had an entirely dif- 
ferent person to deal with from his regular 
assistant, whose sensitiveness and conscien- 
tiousness had made her an easy prey for his 
unthinking remarks, which were often very un- 
kind as well. 

The opening exercises were in the main 
room and here Jean had her first experience in 
being stared at from head to foot by some fifty 
or so young people, anywhere from twelve to 
twenty years of age. Whenever she raised 
her eyes, she could see the exchange of glances 
and whispered comments and a general com- 
motion everywhere, until she was startled to 
hear a deep voice commanding order; but the 
moment the principal’s eyes were lowered to 
the book from which he was reading, the dis- 
order began again. After a few general re- 
marks the exercises were over, recitations be- 
gan, and Jean found herself in the small reci- 


126 jean CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


tation room again with the senior class in 
French. There were five girls and two boys 
seated on the long settee in front of the desk 
and fifteen or so others studying in the back 
of the room. As French was her favorite sub- 
ject, Jean felt at home at once, and meeting 
the class more than half way, soon had their 
confidence and respect. 

When the period was about half over a boy 
in the rear of the room asked for a ruler, and 
Jean replied that she did not know where they 
were. She was immediately informed by the 
big boy in the French class directly in front of 
her, that Miss Fairfax kept them in the lower 
left-hand drawer of the desk. Without stop- 
ping the girl who was reciting, and keeping 
her eyes on the French book to follow the 
translation, Jean reached down to the drawer, 
and opening it, put in her hand to take out 
the ruler. Instead of a hard ruler, her hand 
touched something alive and wiggly, and she 
gave a little scream, and looked down to dis- 
cover something black just disappearing from 
sight : 

“What is it?’^ she cried. “Oh, Miss 


THE SUBSTITUTE TEACHER 127 


Wilder, come here, and tell me what is in this 
drawer.” 

As Miss Wilder, the girl who was reciting, 
came up to the desk, a big, fat, black rat 
jumped out upon the floor, and stood calmly- 
gazing up at the new teacher. Every boy in 
the room began to laugh, the girls looked 
frightened, and there came numerous offers to 
kill the offender. But in a moment Jean re- 
gained her composure, and realized that un- 
doubtedly the rat had been placed in the 
drawer by the big boy in the French class to 
frighten her and cause a disturbance. She said 
nothing about the incident, and continued with 
the recitation, only gazing occasionally at the 
rat as it wandered at will round the desk and 
the stove. It seemed perfectly peaceable, and 
did not leave the front of the room during the 
recitation. When the class was dismissed, 
Jean said nothing, and although inwardly she 
was greatly agitated, she appeared perfectly 
calm, and met the next class as though nothing 
had happened, merely explaining that they had 
a visitor which would remain until recess time. 

When that time arrived, and she was alone 


128 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


in the room, she was surprised to see John 
Matthews, whom she had suspected of the 
deed, come into the room with one or two 
others, and ask if she would like him to kill 
the rat. She replied that she would like it 
removed as quietly as possible, and they could 
do what they pleased with it when it was out 
of the room. Thereupon followed a vigorous 
chase and when the exhausted animal was 
finally driven out into the hall Jean called out: 
“ Thank you. Master Matthews. Would you 
mind coming in a little later? Pd like to ask 
you a few questions about the French work.’’ 

The day passed without any other striking 
incident, but it was neither easy nor a success 
from Jean’s point of view. The girls would 
persist in giggling and whispering; the boys 
seemed to have little inclination to study or 
recite; there were innumerable requests for 
paper or pencils or books or rules, and the 
hours dragged on until it seemed as though half 
past three would never come. Mr. Jennison 
found several excuses for coming into the 
room. Once he slammed down a window 
which she had opened for a little fresh air, say- 


THE SUBSTITUTE TEACHER 129 


ing that it was altogether too cold for comfort. 
Another time he walked in front of her desk 
and picked up several tiny bits of paper that 
had been accidentally dropped there, as though 
he wished to show her that the floors must be 
kept immaculate. Not one encouraging word 
did he offer her, and he spoke sharply to one 
or two of the pupils who seemed to Jean to be 
wholly undeserving of reproof. 

But once out in the open air Jean shook off 
the depressing atmosphere of the first day, and 
hurried away in the direction of her boarding 
house. She heard some footsteps behind her 
and a voice called out her name. Turning 
she saw John Matthews and one of the other 
boys. ‘‘ Oh, Miss Cabot,” John said, we’re 
going sliding, wouldn’t you like to go with 
us?” 

“ Indeed I would, if I hadn’t this pile of 
books.” 

“ Oh, you can leave those at the postoflice ; 
it will save lots of time, and we can get them 
on our way back.” 

So Jean spent the next two hours on the 
long hill enjoying slide after slide, although 


130 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


she declared that each one must be her last, as 
she ought to be at home looking over her 
school work for the next day. But it was 
after six when she hurried into Mrs. Wake- 
man’s and found that admirable woman anx- 
iously watching for her from a little window 
in the sitting-room. Supper was generally 
served at five and Mr. Jennison had already 
eaten, but Mrs. Wakeman said she had waited 
for her, because she did love company, espe- 
cially them that talked, and Mr. Jennison was 
such a poor hand at talking that she ’bout as 
soon eat alone.” The array of food spread 
on the table was cold and did not look particu- 
larly appetizing and Mrs. Wakeman poured 
one tale of woe after another into her new 
boarder’s willing ear. But when she began 
on the details of her third husband’s last sick- 
ness and death, Jean arose and excused herself 
to go to her room, which Mrs. Wakeman as- 
sured her was warm and cozy. 

Alas, the room might have been warm once, 
but never cozy. When Jean entered it, there 
was no sign of fire in the diminutive air-tight 
stove and the atmosphere had little suggestion 


THE SUBSTITUTE TEACHER 13 1 


of any recent heat. To be sure, there was 
wood enough in a basket beside the stove, but 
Jean had never made a fire like that in her 
life, and she finally decided that the only thing 
left was to go to bed at once and keep warm, 
even though it was not yet eight o’clock. But 
first she must write to Elizabeth, for she had 
promised to send a letter every day and give 
an account of her life in Whitestone. It was 
too cold to write much and she shivered as she 
wrote : 

Dear Beth: 

‘‘ The first day is over and it has been one 
grand success. No difficulties whatsoever. I 
can’t say I have fallen in love with His Majesty 
or your boarding mistress, but the school and 
the children and the town are splendid. More 
to-morrow, but I can’t write another word to- 
night I’m so tired. Oh yes, just one more 
thing, I have developed a great interest in a 
certain big boy named John Matthews; tell me 
about him. 

“ Jean.” 

Then she blew out the lamp, and crept into 
the great feather bed, her head teeming with 
new ideas of what she was going to do the 
next day. 


132 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


Tuesday morning she was a little late in 
reaching the Academy, for she went around to 
the postoffice to mail her letter to Elizabeth, 
and when she came into her room and shut the 
door, she was surprised to hear a half dozen 
erasers drop to the floor and one hit her on the 
shoulder. With them came a shower of 
crumbs and she saw at a glance that some one 
had come into the room early enough to put 
the erasers and some cookies on the top of the 
door to startle her when she entered. She 
picked them up, and swept up the crumbs, and 
went on with her preparations for the morn- 
ing’s work as though nothing had happened, 
and she had not heard the suspicious snickers 
in the adjoining room. 

Recitations went better ; every one seemed to 
be trying ; she scarcely spoke to a pupil for dis- 
order; and she truly began to enjoy her work, 
for she was conquering, little by little, and that 
in itself gave her secret satisfaction. The 
only disturbing element was the occasional en- 
trances of the principal, and she felt a bit of 
annoyance every time the door from the main 
room opened and he came tiptoeing into sight. 


THE SUBSTITUTE TEACHER I33 


On one of the last visits of the morning he 
announced that they would have a music lesson 
in the afternoon, and he expected she would 
play the piano, as Miss Fairfax always did. 
He spoke in so commanding a tone that Jeaii 
felt tempted to say she could not play, but in- 
stead she answered she would be very glad to 
do so, for she was determined, if it were a 
possible thing, to win his good-will. 

As it was stormy that day she had brought 
her lunch and was eating it in the recitation 
room when several of the younger girls came 
in and asked if they might join her. At first 
they were a bit shy, but as it gradually wore 
off Jean found herself listening to a brief his- 
tory of the little school, and as soon as she 
could control the conversation, she began tell- 
ing them some college stories, and they soon 
forgot their own petty grievances. When the 
bell rang for the beginning of the afternoon 
session, all the scholars assembled in the main 
room and Jean took her seat at the old-fash- 
ioned square piano to await the arrival of Miss 
Lucretia Gray, a worthy spinster who had de- 
voted most of her life to the gentle art of 


134 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


music. Jean had heard all about her from 
various sources, so she was not surprised at 
her peculiar appearance and manners. She 
was a tall, thin, angular woman, a little over- 
dressed in her endeavors to keep up with the 
prevailing styles, and extremely nervous, as 
shown by the constant shaking of her head and 
the fluttering of her little white hands. She 
greeted the children effusively and then was in- 
troduced to Jean. Jean thought she had never 
seen any one quite so funny in all her life, and 
had all she could do to keep from laughing in 
her face, but she felt she must maintain her 
dignity, or lose the respect of the pupils, so she 
bit her lips to keep back the laugh that threat- 
ened destruction. 

The first song was called, ‘‘ Beautiful 
Night,’’ and Jean struck the opening chords 
and waited for the singing to commence. 
Such absence of melody! She had never 
heard anything like it. There was evidently 
an attempt to keep the four parts, but it seemed 
as though every pupil was singing in a differ- 
ent key and on a different part, apparently un- 
conscious of the fact. A small boy in the 


THE SUBSTITUTE TEACHER i35 


front row, whose voice was a monotone, per- 
sisted in drowning out those near him who 
were trying to carry the bass, and all the while 
Miss Gray was bending back and forth in time 
to the music and smiling approvingly. Jean 
did not dare look up from the music. She was 
shaking so she wondered how much longer she 
could stand it, and what she should do if it got 
any worse. Then followed, “ The Lord Is My 
Shepherd,’’ and this was more than Jean could 
stand. At the end of the first verse she could 
keep back her laughter no longer, and putting 
her handkerchief to her face, pretended to 
cough violently, and hastened from the room. 
But out in the hall she had no peace, for Miss 
Gray, thinking she might need help, hastened 
after her to offer assistance. Jean felt she 
must get control of herself, and once and for 
all made a last effort, and returned to the room 
and to the piano to finish the lesson. Time 
and time again she was tempted to laugh, but 
she remembered what was at stake and con- 
trolled herself. She foimd Mr. Jennison 
watching her closely with a knowing look, and 
at the end of the lesson she was not surprised 


136 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


to have him ask her very sarcastically if her 
cold was better. 

Then one of the children, who knew Jean 
could play, asked Mr. Jennison if Miss Cabot 
might play to them until recess time. Strange 
to say, he gave his consent, and Jean managed 
to get real melody out of the rattly old piano. 
The children sat so quiet and still that one 
would hardly have believed they were the 
same noisy roomful of the morning, and Jean 
played one piece after another, stopping occa- 
sionally to explain the story of what she was 
playing. When the bell rang for recess, the 
old room echoed with round after round of ap- 
plause as Jean rose from the instrument and 
went into the other room. 

After that second day it was smooth sailing. 
Jean had no further difficulties, the children 
felt they could respect her, for she was trying 
her very best, in a frank, straightforward man- 
ner, to do all that was expected of her, and a 
little more. She was not afraid to work, and 
seemed to inspire the same feeling in the 
others. Even Mr. Jennison began to change 
a little in his attitude toward her, and tried to 


THE SUBSTITUTE TEACHER I37 


be pleasant. By nature he was not the pleas- 
ant kind, so it was somewhat of an effort for 
him, and he hated to admit that this inexperi- 
enced college girl was making more of a suc- 
cess than he; but he was beginning to see the 
reason for it, although he never would have 
admitted it to any one but himself. 

Jean remained a little while after school 
Wednesday afternoon to correct some written 
work she had given that day, and just as she 
was gathering up her books to go home, John 
Matthews came into the room. 

“ Excuse me. Miss Cabot, but I came in to 
invite you up to our house to-morrow night 
to a candy pull. Ifs my birthday, and Ma 
said I could have any kind of a party I wanted. 
I’m going to invite the whole school, and I 
want you too.” 

Then John’s face began to show unmistak- 
able signs of a blush, and he shifted a little 
uneasily from one foot to the other as he added, 
“ Before you answer one way or the other, I 
want to tell you — er — that I feel ashamed 
of myself for what I did when you first come. 
I — er — er — I put that rat in your desk, and 


138 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


the erasers and cookies on the top of the door, 
and I — er — whispered more than any of the 
others. But you’re a funny kind of a teacher ; 
you didn’t seem to mind it at all; leastways 
you didn’t talk about it, and scold us like all 
the other teachers we ever had. I always like 
to have some fun with the teachers, especially 
the new ones, and it was so easy to plague Miss 
Fairfax, and see the color come into her face 
and her eyes snap as she tried to find out who 
did things. I know it wasn’t right, but I did 
it time and time again, and put the other boys 
up to it, too. But it wasn’t that way with you. 
Why you seemed to make us feel ashamed 
without saying anything to us. All you had 
to do was look at us. Well, I made up my 
mind good and soon that I might as well stop 
my funny work, for you weren’t the kind of 
teacher to try it on. I’m sorry — and I 
promise you I won’t do it again no matter who 
we have here, for I want to do some work and 
graduate and go to college like you do. But 
I wish you were coming back. Why can’t you 
teach us always. Miss Cabot ? ” 

Jean ignored the last question, and said 


THE SUBSTITUTE TEACHER i39 


pleasantly, ‘‘ I shall be very glad to go to your 
party, John, but how can I get to your house? 
Isn’t it a long distance ? ” 

Yes, but I’ll see that you get there all 
right. Don’t worry about that, if you’ll only 
say you’ll come I’ll ’tend to the rest. I want 
my family to know you.” 

'"All right then, John, I’ll surely go, and 
thank you for telling me about the rat. I 
thought you knew all about it and if I waited 
long enough you would tell me. It’s getting 
dark. We mustn’t stay here any longer. 
Would you mind helping me carry some of 
these books to the library ? ” 

John was only too glad to be of any assist- 
ance to the new teacher, and they walked to- 
gether in the gathering darkness to the little 
room up over the postoffice, where were kept 
the few books the town possessed. 

Somehow news spreads like wild fire in a 
little country town, and most of the children 
went home and told their families how beauti- 
fully Miss Cabot played on the piano. It 
reached the ears of Mrs. Wakeman, who, al- 
though she had no children to tell her the news, 


140 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


had a telephone, and was always conversant 
with the latest bit of gossip. So that evening 
she asked Jean if she would play to her a little 
on the organ which was kept in the sacred 
front parlor, and hadn’t been touched since 
her daughter Nelly left home some twenty 
years before. She invited Mr. Jennison to 
the concert, and, strange to say, he remained 
downstairs, something unprecedented in the 
annals of his boarding with the Widow Wake- 
man, — another topic of interest for the local 
telephones on the following day. 

Jean couldn’t get much melody out of the 
wheezy old instrument, but played from a 
hymn-book, as Mrs. Wakeman picked out one 
favorite after another, and kept audible time 
with her creaking rocker. The room began 
to grow chilly as the small amount of wood 
in the fireplace became exhausted, and when 
Mrs. Wakeman was called to the telephone, 
Jean stopped playing and arose to go to her 
room. Mr. Jennison, rising at the same time, 
asked if he might speak with her for a moment. 
In a very stumbling, hesitant way he asked if 
he might drive her over to the party at John 


THE SUBSTITUTE TEACHER 141 


Matthews’ the next evening. John had in- 
vited him, and said Miss Cabot was going, too. 
He could hire a horse and sleigh at the stable, 
and they could go together instead of in the 
barge with the children. Jean wanted to say 
no, but the change which had come over the 
young man since Monday morning gave her 
reason to hope that she could win him over, 
and make Elizabeth’s course easier for the rest 
of the year. So she said she would be glad to 
accept his invitation. 

Thursday night was dark, and it snowed a 
little, but the sleighing was very good, and Mr. 
Jennison and Jean soon covered the five miles 
to the Matthews’ farmhouse. There was an 
old-fashioned candy pull and then games, and 
it was nearly twelve o’clock before the party 
broke up and started for home. At first Jean 
had little to say, and listened patiently to Mr. 
Jennison’s continual remarks upon the school 
and his successful management of the same. 
She was just on the point of asking him to 
show a little more tolerance to Elizabeth, when 
the horse suddenly shied at a tree which had 
fallen part way across the road, gave a plunge. 


142 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


overturned the sleigh, threw the occupants into 
the snow, and started on a dead run down the 
lonely road. By the time Mr. Jennison had 
picked himself up, and helped Jean to arise, 
the frightened steed was far away and entirely 
lost from view. 

As soon as Jean recovered her breath she 
exclaimed : Oh, Mr. Jennison, please hurry 

after that horse ! What shall we do ? Every 
one else is ahead of us, and we’ll never get 
home to-night.” 

Mr. Jennison started to run down the road, 
but he soon realized it would be of no use to 
try to overtake the runaway horse, for it was 
headed straight for home, and probably 
wouldn’t stop until it arrived there. Panting 
after his exertions, he came up to where Jean 
was standing in the middle of the road, and 
said : 

“ I’m afraid we’ll have to walk, Miss Cabot; 
it’s no use trying to catch the horse. I’m very 
sorry, but there doesn’t seem to be anything 
else to do. But I understand you’re very fond 
of walking, so you won’t mind.” 

“Yes, I am,” snapped Jean, “but not at 


THE SUBSTITUTE TEACHER 143 


midnight and in snow up to one’s neck. But 
if there’s nothing else to do, we may as well 
start.” 

For the first two miles neither of them said 
a word, and then Jean burst out laughing. 

‘‘ Well, Mr. Jennison, we needn’t be so 
grouchy about it; of course, you couldn’t help 
the accident, and it doesn’t make matters any 
better to act this way. I think it’s time the 
ice was broken, anyway. You’ve tried hard 
all the week not to be friends and it hasn’t 
made life any easier for me, but you couldn’t 
prevent my doing good work in spite of it. 
Now I want to ask you to help Miss Fairfax 
when she comes back. She’s afraid of you, I 
think, but I’m not, and I never worry, and I 
guess that’s why I’ve got along so nicely with 
everybody but you. And I hope you’re not 
going to stand out against me any longer, or 
against Elizabeth — I mean Miss Fairfax. 
The school will never amount to anything un- 
less you work together, and I know what I’d 
do if I were going to stay here. There, I’ve 
said too much, perhaps, but I do want it to be 
easier when Miss Fairfax comes back. I know 


144 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


John Matthews or Rod Lawton will never 
give her any more trouble, and Pm almost 
positive that — ” 

‘‘ Yes, Miss Cabot, say it. You can be posi- 
tive that I, too, will try to do better. I haven’t 
made it as pleasant as I might have for Miss 
Fairfax, but I haven’t got much patience, and 
when I thought everything was going wrong, 
I had to have some one to blame things on, and 
perhaps it did fall on her too often. And I 
apologize for the way I treated you, and if 
you’ll give me the chance. I’ll show you to- 
morrow what I can do, and what I mean to do 
for the rest of the year.” 

With the ice thus broken, they talked pleas- 
antly together for the next two miles, and 
finally reached home at an hour that would 
have shocked any of the worthy inhabitants of 
Whitestone, had they been awake to see. 
After leaving Jean at Mrs. Wakeman’s, Mr. 
Jennison hastened to the hotel where he had 
hired the equipage of the evening, and found 
to his relief, that the horse had returned some 
time before, and although the hotel-keeper had 
been considerably alarmed, he had not known 


THE SUBSTITUTE TEACHER I45 


anything better to do than wait for the appear- 
ance of the driver. After an explanation had 
been given, he said the sleigh would have to 
remain out on the Bellington Road all night, 
even if it did get covered up with the snow, 
and if there were any damages he could settle 
for them later on. With a light heart the 
young man left the hotel and hastened to his 
boarding house to get a few hours of sleep 
before the inevitable alarm clock should 
awaken him to the duties of the day. 

Friday, the last day of school, was a happy 
day for every one ; even the children noticed a 
change in the principal and seemed to be in- 
fluenced by it. In the afternoon as Jean sat 
at her desk looking out of the window, she 
caught sight of Dr. Fairfax and Elizabeth 
driving up into the yard. How glad she was 
to see them! It seemed as though she could 
not keep herself from running down to greet 
them. And how glad she was too that they 
could know her week had been a success, even 
though she was very tired after so many new 
experiences. When they came up into the 
building, Mr. Jennison welcomed them cor- 


146 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


dially, and seemed really glad to see Elizabeth. 
As the children caught sight of her, their faces 
lighted up with joy, even though they would 
have confessed that they were sorry to have 
Miss Cabot leave. One of the boys came for- 
ward and asked Mr. Jennison if Miss Cabot 
might play to them before she left, and he will- 
ingly gave his consent. Jean went to the piano 
and played for a full half hour. Then she 
asked Elizabeth to sing, “ Beautiful Night,’' 
and her clear soprano voice rang out as the 
children had never heard it, and they encored 
her again and again. 

After school was dismissed and Mr. Jen- 
nison had thanked Jean for what she had done 
and the three were in the sleigh for their ride 
back to Newburgh, Elizabeth said : 

‘‘Jean Cabot, what have you done to that 
school? It’s just as different from what it 
was last Friday as black is from white. 
You’ve bewitched everybody, I can see that 
easily enough. You’d better take up school 
teaching.” 

“ Never. It’s too much work, but I’ll come 


THE SUBSTITUTE TEACHER I47 


up and relieve you any time you say. Have 
you any mail for me at home? ” 

Oh, loads of it,” said Elizabeth, laughing, 
and most of it seems to be in one handwrit- 
ing. To-day there was a telegram which I 
brought along. Do you suppose that means 
we’ll have company over week-end ? ” 

As Jean tore open the telegram and read it, 
she exclaimed: 

Oh, you wise one ! You know all about it. 
You wrote him a letter yourself. Yes, he’ll 
be here to-morrow noon. O I’m so glad, for 
Dick will be here, too, and we’ll have a regular 
reunion. Oh, let’s hurry and get home, so I 
can have my letters.” And the old sleigh 
with the three happy people journeyed up and 
down hill until it reached the Fairfax home- 
stead. 


CHAPTER VIII 


THE REST OF THE VACATION, AND THE JUNIOR 
SURPRISE 

A t the supper table that evening Jean 
regaled the family with an animated 
account of her week’s experiences, 
and was just in the midst of the midnight walk 
from the Matthews’ party when there came 
a low, familiar whistle, and some one stepped 
onto the side porch. The four looked at one 
another, and said in one voice, ‘‘ It’s Dick, but 
how did he get here at this time of night? ” 

In another moment Dick was in the room, 
offering explanations for his unexpected ar- 
rival, for he had written that he would come 
Saturday, on the late afternoon train, and the 
two girls had planned to drive down with Bob 
to meet him. But he had changed his plans 
when he found he was to have a cut in math. 
Saturday morning, and he took the same train 
a day earlier so that he could have as much 
148 


THE JUNIOR SURPRISE 


149 


time as possible at home. He supposed he 
was a little late for supper, but he couldn’t get 
there any earlier. As it was, he had walked 
more than half the distance, for the only per- 
son he found coming Newburgh way was old 
Farmer Cushing, and he had turned off at the 
Crossroads. It had been easy enough walking 
at first, but when it began to rain, it got slip- 
pery, and he couldn’t make much progress. 
He declared he was hungry enough to eat 
everything there was in the house, and he 
promised that if they’d only let him fill up 
once, he’d talk with them until midnight on 
any subject under the sun. So Mrs. Fairfax 
placed one good thing after another before the 
hungry boy until, when he had finished, he 
insisted that he had eaten more in that one 
meal than he usually ate in a whole week at his 
boarding-house. 

After the dishes were done, the family gath- 
ered in the sitting-room before the blazing fire- 
place to eat butternuts and popcorn and listen 
to the tales of the hero. For Dick was a 
mighty sophomore now, having those experi- 
ences he believed no one else could have had, 


150 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


although three of the little group had passed 
through that same glorious age, and were per- 
fectly familiar with all those things which he 
found of paramount interest. ‘‘ Classes come 
and classes go, but sophs go on forever.'^ 
Dick had gone to college the year following 
his serious illness — a year spent in outdoor 
life on his father’s farm, — with the determin- 
ation to make the most of his opportunities. 
He was succeeding, but he found time for 
other things along with his studying, and the 
intercourse with young men of his own age 
from all parts of the country was broadening 
his hitherto narrow horizon, and making a 
splendid fellow of him. Perhaps he no longer 
dreamed of becoming a poet, but he still clung 
to the hope of doing things worth while. 

Even when the butternuts and popcorn were 
all eaten, and only the dying embers were left 
from the blazing fire, and Dr. Fairfax and his 
wife had stifled several successive yawns, there 
were still untold victories to be rehearsed and 
numberless questions to be asked and an- 
swered, and it was with reluctance that Dick 
admitted that they could wait over until the 


THE JUNIOR SURPRISE 


151 

next day. He wasn’t sleepy; why, no, he sel- 
dom went to bed before twelve, and here it 
was only eleven; but when he remembered his 
father’s regular early hour of rising and the 
chores he meant to help him do in the morning, 
he rose with the others, and taking the old 
brass candlestick from the kitchen mantel, 
climbed to his little cold room in the attic, 
which from childhood he had loved in the 
summer and hated in the winter. 

During the night it cleared and turned 
colder, and when the sun shone next day it 
revealed a world of dazzling beauty. The 
girls spent the morning in the kitchen helping 
Mrs. Fairfax with the cooking. There was 
plenty of it to be done, for wintry air and out- 
of-door life does not lessen the appetites of 
healthy young people, and similar experiences 
in the past had taught her to always lay in a 
plenteous store of good things when there was 
company expected. Jean did not do any of 
the actual cooking, but she pared apples, 
cracked nuts, beat eggs, whipped cream, stoned 
raisins, and frosted cakes, while Elizabeth and 
her mother made the cakes and pies and pud- 


152 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


dings one after the other; and when at noon 
the three stood before the pantry shelves and 
surveyed the results of the morning’s work, 
Jean declared it looked like a regular Thanks- 
giving feast. 

After Dick had helped his father finish the 
chores, he got out the big double-seated sleigh, 
and began cleaning it, for it had not been used 
for so long that it had nearly lost its identity 
in the network of cobwebs that covered it. 
Then the big fur robes were shaken and placed 
on the backs of the seats, the harness bright- 
ened up a bit, and all was ready but the horse. 
Dick was hoping there would be no “ hurry- 
up ” call for his father, because under those 
conditions he would be obliged to take their 
one horse in the one-seated sleigh, and then 
Dick would be forced to visit one of the neigh- 
boring cousins or uncles or aunts, and borrow 
another horse. But fortunately there was no 
call, and at twelve o’clock everything was in 
readiness for the drive to Wilton Junction. 
The three wore their sweaters and coats and 
toboggan caps, for it was bitter cold, and when 
they had taken their seats and drawn the great 


THE JUNIOR SURPRISE 


153 


black robes up over them, their best friends 
would have had difficulty in recognizing them. 

They reached the station about one, and 
found they had fifteen minutes before the train 
was due. Rather than wait in the cold they 
decided they would drive into the town, and 
stop a minute at Cousin Margaret’s to see the 
new baby. They got so interested in thawing 
out and watching the baby that the fifteen 
minutes flew by unnoticed, and by the time 
they had started back to the station, they 
heard the whistle of the Boston express, and 
knew that Bob would arrive with no one to 
meet him. As this was his first visit in that 
part of the country, his impressions might not 
be altogether favorable. Dick hurried the 
horse as fast as he could, but when they came 
in sight of the station they were not long in 
discovering Bob walking restlessly up and 
down the platform. They shouted a chorus of 
greetings, and he waved his bag at them as 
though it were a signal of distress, and has- 
tened toward them. When they had driven up 
beside him, they gave him an enthusiastic wel- 
come, with regrets that they had not been in 


154 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


time for the train, and as his eye caught Jean's, 
one might have detected a deeper color in her 
cheek than the sharp wind would have ac- 
counted for. 

The ride home was not so cold, for they had 
the wind at their backs, and it was slower go- 
ing, for there were long hills to climb. As 
they neared the top of one of them they saw 
some boys coasting, and Jean exclaimed: 

Wouldn't this be a perfect night to go 
coasting? The moon is nearly full, and the 
rain has made a hard crust over the snow. 
Why can’t we go on the hill back of your 
house? Have you some sleds? " 

We used to have a big double runner that 
father had made for us when we first went to 
the Academy, but it hasn't been used for years. 
If Father hasn't given it away, it's out in the 
woodshed. I'll take a look at it when we get 
home, and see if it's fit to use," and Dick 
waxed as enthusiastic over the prospect as 
Jean. 

When they reached the house, the doctor 
came out to take care of the horse; and the 
young people made a bee-line for the dining- 


THE JUNIOR SURPRISE 


155 


room, where a steaming hot chowder awaited 
them. They ate so much and talked so long 
that by the time they left the table it was four 
o’clock, and Dick suggested that they go out 
with him to take a look at the double-runner. 
At the mention of the word “ double-runner ” 
the doctor gave a hearty laugh, and said : 

Why, bless my soul, who’d ever have 
thought you’d want that old double-runner 
again! I gave it to the little Joneses only last 
week, but perhaps you can borrow it of them 
for to-night, if you’ve set your hearts on 
coasting. It’s not as warm as it might be, and 
you’ll have to wrap up with everything you’ve 
got; I don’t want any frozen ears and fingers 
and toes to take care of to-morrow.” 

“ Don’t worry. Father,” said Dick. ‘‘ I 
guess we won’t do much sliding, if the Jones 
tribe have the ‘ dub.’ I’m not going down 
there after it; it’s altogether too far.” 

‘‘Of course not, Dick,” returned Jean, 
“ there’s no need of it, anyway. We can slide 
the way we do at college, or rather the way 
we used to do, for since two of the girls got 
hurt just before Christmas, Prexy made a rule 


156 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


against it. But we used to take our chafing- 
dish trays and dustpans, or anything else we 
could lay our hands on, and slide on the crust. 
So let’s take some old milkpans or dishpans 
and go out now on the hill back of the house. 
There’s absolutely no danger there, and I’m 
bound I’m going sliding somewhere, somehow. 
Won’t you come with us. Doctor? ” 

“No, thank you, Jean; you couldn’t find a 
milkpan big enough to hold me, I’m afraid, 
and then, too. I’m not at all anxious to leave 
my remains on the stone wall.” 

“ Well, I’m not either; but we needn’t go in 
that direction ; we can go toward the meadow 
and there’s nothing there to stop us unless we 
go through into the brook. Don’t you think 
that’s frozen solid enough to hold even such a 
heavy weight as you ? ” 

“ Yes, indeed, Jean; that side of the hill will 
be safe enough for anybody.” 

“ All right then, let’s choose our sleds, for 
we want to do our sliding while the moon is 
up.” 

They did present an amusing picture, when, 
wrapped like Eskimos, with pans in hand, they 


THE JUNIOR SURPRISE i57 

started to ascend the hill. The dignified Har- 
vard instructor, for lack of a toboggan cap, 
wore a gray worsted muffler tied over an old 
sealskin cap of the doctor’s, his own raccoon 
coat and some cast off high top-boots of Dick’s, 
and he carried the largest milkpan the family 
possessed. Dick had a broom; Jean, Eliza- 
beth’s round chafing-dish tray, and Elizabeth, 
a large, flat dustpan. They had agreed to ex- 
change sleds after each slide until they found 
the ones best adapted to their needs. Jean 
headed the procession, and being a past-mis- 
tress in the novel art, she was persuaded to 
take the first slide. Nothing daunted, she 
seated herself on the tray and asked Bob to 
give her a vigorous push. Off she started, but 
it was so slippery Bob found himself unable to 
let go of her shoulders and they went flying 
down^the hill together. Before they reached 
the bottom, however, he lost his balance, and 
fell with such force that it broke the crust and 
brought his slide to an abrupt halt, with no 
other damage done than to send his glasses 
some twenty feet away, and scatter them in a 
thousand little pieces, while Jean wildly con- 


158 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


tinued the slide like a ship without a rudder. 
They were soon at the top again ready for 
another slide, and started off the others, who 
sometimes reached the bottom in safety, and 
sometimes slid off their scanty sleds and fin- 
ished the slide without them. Occasionally 
they joined hands, and tried to go down 
abreast, but sooner or later they were bound 
to part company and go skiing off in various 
directions. 

It was not so cold after the sun set, for the 
wind seemed to go down with it, and the 
novelty of the sliding so interested the young 
people that they completely forgot about sup- 
per, until Doctor Fairfax came to the foot of 
the hill, and shouted: 

‘‘Last call for supper! Hot griddle-cakes 
and maple syrup, now served in the dining- 
room I ” 

Then they made a dash for him, and rushed 
pell-mell into the house. How they did con- 
sume those steaming hot griddle-cakes! It 
kept Mrs. Fairfax so busy frying them that 
finally the doctor had to go into the kitchen 
and relieve her. 



Jkan seated herself on the tray and asked Bob to give her 

A VIGOROUS push. — Page 157. 





THE JUNIOR SURPRISE 


159 


They spent the evening before the fireplace, 
just talking; several cousins dropped in, and 
there was plenty to say. Sunday there was 
church in the morning and a sleigh-ride to 
Whitestone in the afternoon, as Bob wanted to 
see where Jean had taught and lived for a 
whole week. He refused to believe she had 
been there until he saw the town and school. 
Then Monday morning Dick and Bob left for 
their respective colleges and Elizabeth for 
Whitestone, and Jean was left alone. But she 
did not mind because it was a good opportun- 
ity for real rest; she could go to bed and get 
up just when she pleased, and during the day 
work on a thesis which would be due shortly 
after her return to Ashton. 

So she worked and rested until Friday, when 
she received a letter saying that all danger 
was over and college would reopen the follow- 
ing Monday. She decided to leave Saturday 
morning in order to get back to the society 
house by the time the other girls began to 
arrive. Elizabeth drove her down to the sta- 
tion early in the morning, and with real re- 
luctance saw her disappear from view as the 


i6o jean CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


train left the little station. Then with a great 
loneliness in her heart she got into the old 
sleigh again, and headed the faithful horse 
homeward. 

By Monday night nearly every girl had re- 
turned to Ashton, and college activities were 
resumed as though nothing had happened to 
disturb the peace of mind of the whole student 
body. Soon diphtheria was forgotten in the 
startling announcement that for the first time 
in the history of the college the juniors were to 
have a Junior Day the last week in February, 
with flag raising and an athletic meet in the 
morning. Glee Club concert in the afternoon, 
and as the crowning event, the presentation of 
Tennyson’s “ Princess,” in the gymnasium 
that evening. In order that there might be 
no ill feeling caused by the assigning of the 
parts in the play, all those who wished to do 
so were invited to take part in the prelimin- 
aries, where a committee from the faculty 
were to choose those best fitted for the several 
parts. Copies of “ The Princess ” were im- 
mediately rushed into service, and in dormitory 
and class room, library and gymnasium anx- 


THE JUNIOR SURPRISE i6i 

ious juniors might have been seen conning the 
thirty lines, which were to decide their fate. 
The Gamma Chi girls were as excited as every- 
body else, and Polly Thompson made their life 
miserable by continually calling out to every 
one she met, “ Oh, wait a minute, please ; just 
hear me say this once more; there’s one line I 
can’t seem to get, and you know the ‘ prelims ’ 
come Friday.” Polly had always shone in the 
house plays, and was secretly longing for one 
of the star parts on Junior Day, but she real- 
ized that the competition was keen, and that 
any number of the girls were as anxious as she 
to be chosen. 

The preliminaries were held in the after- 
noon, and in the evening all the excited juniors 
were invited to assemble in College Hall to 
hear the decisions. After Polly and the other 
juniors had felt the house, the rest of the girls 
assembled in Jean’s room to await their return, 
and to hear about the latest plan for mutual 
benefit that had evolved from Anne Cockran’s 
fertile brain. As each girl entered the room 
she stumbled, or barely escaped doing so, over 
a large box that reposed calmly in the center of 


1 62 jean CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


the floor. Anne refused to answer any ques- 
tions, until every girl had found a comfortable 
seat. Then she began: 

“ Well, girls, the mystery of the box is about 
to be revealed. It’s nothing to cause so much 
excitement, for it’s only a crate of grapefruit. 
But you needn’t all look so pleased at that in- 
formation, for it isn’t a present. I bought it 
this afternoon, or rather I had it sent up from 
Conant’s. I couldn’t resist the bargain, for 
Mr. Conant told me if I would take the crate, 
I could get the fruit at the rate of eight cents 
apiece and ordinarily we pay fifteen or twenty. 
Of course I can never eat all of them myself, 
so I’ve decided to offer them for sale. I’ll 
have the crate put in the corner on top of my 
steamer trunk and you can come in and help 
yourselves any time you want to, provided, and 
here comes the rub, provided you are willing 
to drop eight cents into the little bank I shall 
put above the crate, after signing your name 
and the date to the paper you will find pinned 
to the wall. Then there’ll be no excuse for 
you’re saying you can never get enough grape- 
fruit at breakfast and in between times. Now 


THE JUNIOR SURPRISE 163 


what do you say to my proposition, girls? 
I’m not trying to make money, you see, in spite 
of the fact that I need it badly just at present, 
but it seems to me too good an opportunity to 
pass by/’ 

Cries of approval sounded on all sides, and 
Anne found herself compelled to open the crate 
at once in order that everybody might test the 
fruit. During the process of removing the 
cover most of the girls hurried to their rooms 
for more plates and spoons and a reinforce- 
ment of sugar, and by the time they were back 
again, dozens of the rich yellow fruit were ex- 
posed to view ready to be tested one after an- 
other until they found what seemed the ripest 
and juiciest. Just as most of them were be- 
ginning on their second half, they heard the 
front door opened and the juniors come troop- 
ing up the stairs and down the hall in the 
direction of the feast. 

Something must have gone wrong, I think, 
by the way they’re sputtering,” said Anne. 

Hope the feed will cheer them up a bit,” and 
she hastened to the door with a grapefruit in 
each hand. Come in quick, Junies, we’re 


1 64 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


crazy to hear who got the Prince and the Prin- 
cess and all the other parts ; while youTe talk- 
ing, help yourself to grapefruit, and Fll tell 
you later what the tax will be/’ 

But Rosalie Warner burst out indignantly, 
“ Don't say ‘ parts ’ to us, we're so thoroughly 
disgusted we refuse to talk about the matter. 
We didn't any of us get anything except Polly, 
and all she got was little insignificant Melissa, 
when everybody's said all along that she ought 
to have the Prince or one of the other star 
parts. She says she's going to tell the com- 
mittee to-morrow morning that she won't take 
the part, and I for one don't blame her." 

“Nor I!" “Nor I!" “Nor I!" came 
from each of the other juniors. Polly seated 
herself in front of the open box, and began 
searching for a ripe fruit. When she had 
found one that satisfied her, she exclaimed, 
“ Oh, I'm so hungry I could eat half a dozen 
of these. I've been so nervous for the last 
week I positively lost my appetite, but now 
I’ll make up for lost time. No more worry 
for me, thank goodness; now I can sit back 
and watch other people work for a change. 


THE JUNIOR SURPRISE 165 


Not another stroke of work for the class as 
long as I live.’’ 

Why, Polly Thompson,” retorted Jean, 
“you don’t mean that you’re going to desert 
your class like that just because you didn’t 
get the part you wanted in a play? You ought 
to be tickled to death to get any part at all, 
and do your level best no matter what it is, 
for the sake of the class, if for no other rea- 
son. Only think how few of the girls can 
take part, anyway. It’s a disgrace to Gamma 
Chi for you to refuse this part, and I, fpr one, 
shall be heartily ashamed of you if you do 
anything as childish as what Rosalie suggests. 
Come, show the stuff you’re made of, and be 
a real true sport instead of a make-believe. 
Here’s a grapefruit I’ve fixed especially for 
you ; eat it, and I’m sure you’ll feel much 
more amiable.” 

But Polly would not be comforted at first, 
and declared she did not want the part and 
would not take it. Jean said nothing more 
just then; she believed that when Polly had 
thought the matter over by herself she would 
do the right thing, for her sense of right and 


i66 jean CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


wrong was very keen and generally guided 
her aright. The more the others talked, the 
less Polly had to say, and several times Jean 
saw her gazing fixedly at the wall in front of 
her as though lost in thought and entirely un- 
conscious of her surroundings. Suddenly 
she arose and exclaimed: 

“ Well, girls, they say it’s a woman’s priv- 
ilege to change her mind, so I’ve gone and 
changed mine. Of course I’m going to take 
the part that’s been assigned to me, and I beg 
of you all to say nothing about my previous 
feelings on the matter. Perhaps I’ll do so well^ 
they’ll wish they’d chosen me for the Prince 
instead of Joe Hallo well. I’ve eaten so much 
I know I’ll never be able to get to sleep, but 
I guess I’ll make a start anyway. I think your 
scheme’s a dandy, Anne, and at the present 
rate of consumption, perhaps you’d better or- 
der a dozen boxes of grapefruit for the rest 
of the season. How much do I owe you 
now? ” 

“About sixteen cents, Polly.” 

“Well, you’ll have to trust me till next 
week. I have only ten cents left from this 


THE JUNIOR SURPRISE 167 


month’s allowance and I want to keep that for 
luck.” Then Polly left the room, and after 
the other girls had helped clear up the much 
disordered room, they followed suit, and Anne 
and Jean were left alone. The moment the 
door closed behind the last girl Jean exclaimed 
eagerly : 

Oh, Anne, did I say too much to Polly. 
I wanted her to do the right thing, but Pm 
afraid I hurt her feelings, and she’s so sensi- 
tive I wouldn’t do that for the world.” 

‘‘No, it was only what she needed; she’ll 
stand anything from you, and I’m positive 
you’re the only one that could have made her 
take that part. She’ll be all right in the morn- 
ing, but I wouldn’t go down there to talk to 
her to-night. Do you want to look over 
Deutsch for a few moments ; there are several 
pages more to read.” 

They spent only a few moments on their 
German, and were soon in bed. Next morn- 
ing Polly was in her most amiable mood, and 
seemed to have forgotten everything but that 
she was going to have a part in the play. Re- 
hearsals began that very day, and continued 


1 68 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


thick and fast for the rest of the month, until 
the girls declared they were worn into shreds. 
The last rehearsal was on the afternoon before 
Junior Day, and only then did Miss Hamilton, 
the coach, admit that she was anywhere near 
satisfied. Everything was in readiness, and 
now there was nothing to do but wait for the 
hour of the performance. 

Polly went to her room early for a good 
night’s sleep, but about half-past eight Anne 
wanted a book she had left the night before 
in Polly’s room, and went quietly down the 
hall to see whether Polly was asleep or not. 
Imagine her astonishment, upon nearing the 
door, to hear, instead of the expected peaceful 
breathing of the sleeping girl, a loud clear 
voice reciting line after line of poetry. She 
listened* as long as she dared ; then ran back 
to her room, and dragging Jean over to the 
couch, whispered: 

‘‘ What do you think Polly Thompson has 
done? I believe she’s learned every line of 
the part of the Prince in the play. I heard 
her reciting it to herself just now when I 
went down to get my German ‘ diet.’ I was 


THE JUNIOR SURPRISE 169 


reading over the play only last night and I 
recognized some of the speeches instantly. I 
suppose she was so disappointed she didn’t get 
the part that she’s been learning it at rehearsals 
to satisfy herself. Poor child, I guess we 
didn’t any of us realize how badly she did 
feel!” 

“ Polly has a remarkable memory,” said 
Jean, “ and I shouldn’t be surprised if she 
knew the whole play by heart. Well, who 
knows? Perhaps it will come in handy one 
of these days. I shouldn’t say anything to 
her about it if I were you. I hope she’ll do 
well, for she’s set her heart on it. Don’t 
you think if we want to win any of the events 
in the meet to-morrow, we’d better begin train- 
ing by going to bed early to-night. ‘ Better 
late than never,’ you know. I advise you to 
let those chocolates alone, too, for candy’s 
against the rules.” 

‘‘ Oh, we haven’t much chance against the 
sophs. They’re perfect cracker jacks, and are 
boasting that they’ll take every event. I won- 
der if I can borrow a gym. suit anywhere; my 
bloomers are absolutely impossible, and I 


170 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


haven’t time to make any more. Are there 
any extra ones round the house ? ” 

“ I think you can take Bess Johnson’s. She 
can’t possibly enter. Her ankle isn’t strong 
enough yet for her to use it except for neces- 
sary walking. Why don’t you ask her ? ” 

Just the thing, Jean; you certainly always 
do come to the rescue with your bright ideas. 
I’ll run over to her room now and ask her 
about it.” 

“ Don’t stay too long and forget all about 
our training,” laughed Jean. You’ll prob- 
ably find me fast in the arms of Morpheus by 
the time you return, and I warn you not to 
make any noise to wake me up.” 

Don’t you worry, I’ll be back in a minute,” 
and Anne jumped up from the couch, and was 
out of the room and down the hall before Jean 
realized it 


CHAPTER IX 


JUNIOR DAY 

N ext morning it was snowing, and 
although it was the last day of 
February the driving wind and the 
whirling snow pointed to a regular blizzard. 
So the flag-raising, which was to have taken 
place at half-past nine, had to be indeflnitely 
postponed; but the storm could not interfere 
with the meet which was called for ten o’clock 
in the gymnasium. Long before the appointed 
hour the galleries began to be fllled with the 
enthusiastic friends of the juniors, who dared 
to brave the elements in anticipation of this 
innovation on the part of the junior class. 

The whole college had been invited to par- 
ticipate in the meet, and promptly at ten o’clock 
the four classes, led by the juniors, came onto 
the floor and marched slowly round the ‘‘ gym.” 
twice before they took the places assigned to 
them. The juniors wore white dresses and 
171 


172 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


white sweaters, with huge red crepe paper 
muffs hung round their necks by wide red rib- 
bons; the seniors wore white with blue poke 
bonnets and blue frilled overskirts ; the sopho- 
mores had lavender dresses with caps and sur- 
plices of green, and the freshmen wore baby 
dresses of white, their hair braided and tied 
with green ribbons, and they carried green 
baby rattles. 

In turn they sang their class songs, alter- 
nating with ‘‘ Alma Mater,” and after the three 
other classes had given lusty cheers for the 
juniors, they sat down to watch them in folk 
dances. Then all four classes competed in 
Swedish gymnastics, and the seniors won, with 
the sophomores second. Next came competi- 
tion between the freshmen and the sophomores 
in folk dances, and the sophomores won. 
Then the juniors gave an aesthetic dance called 
Spring,” and in competition with this the 
seniors danced ‘‘ The Echo ” and a merry little 
French peasant dance, and won. To make up 
for this loss the juniors exerted all their energy, 
and won in the apparatus work and especially 
starred in rope-climbing. 


JUNIOR DAY 


173 


The most anticipated event of the morning, 
the relay race, came next, and after the toss-up 
it was found that the juniors and the seniors 
were to run first and then the two lower classes 
and finally the winners of both these races. 
It happened that Joe Hallo well was to start 
for the juniors and Anne Cockran for the 
seniors, and at the signal they bounded away 
up the track. But at the first bend Joe turned 
her ankle, and fell heavily to the floor, strik- 
ing her shoulder as she did so. Anne was just 
ahead of her, but turned in a flash, and bend- 
ing over her, asked what she could do. The 
doctor and Miss Matthews and crowds of the 
girls were on the spot by this time, and as Joe 
tried to get up, she gave a little scream of 
pain, and pointing to her ankle and her right 
shoulder, said in a low voice: 

‘‘ Something’s the matter here, and here. 
Please do something quick. Doctor, for Pve 
got to be the Prince to-night, if I have to be 
carried onto the stage on a stretcher.” 

The doctor pushed the crowd back and then 
after a hasty examination told Joe that she 
must be taken to the Infirmary at once, for she 


174 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


had not only wrenched her ankle but also dis- 
located her shoulder. 

Oh, I can’t go, Doctor,” she wailed; just 
think. I’m to be the Prince, and if I’m in the 
hospital, what will the girls do? It will spoil 
the whole play and it’ll all be my fault.” 

“ Now, don’t worry, Miss Hallowell,” said 
the doctor. I’m sure they can fix things up 
all right, and people will understand and make 
allowances for what has happened. Let me 
help you up onto the couch the girls have 
brought here for you. Keep up your courage ; 
you’re doing splendidly.” 

A hush had fallen upon all of the girls and 
their friends; the idea of continuing the meet 
was immediately abandoned, and every one 
waited anxiously for the arrival of the auto- 
mobile which was to convey the injured girl 
to the hospital. Here and there groups of 
girls whispered together, and one felt intui- 
tively that the juniors were saying with one ac- 
cord, Hard luck for Joe, but what are we 
going to do for the Prince to-night. At this 
eleventh hour there’s no one can take her place, 
but we can’t give it up now.” And then if 


JUNIOR DAY 


175 


one had been watching Anne Cockran, they 
might have seen her steal quietly up to one 
of the most animated groups, and drawing 
Helen Varney, chairman of the Play Com- 
mittee, aside, whisper to her a few moments. 
After this hurried consultation Helen returned 
to the group for a moment, and then she 
hastened from one group to another until she 
finally found Polly Thompson, and threw her 
arms around her. 

‘‘Oh, Polly,” she whispered, “Pve been 
looking for you everywhere. You've got to 
be the Prince to-night. I know you can do 
it. We'll have a special rehearsal all this 
afternoon. You won’t mind giving up the 
‘ Glee,' I know. Come into the dressing-room 
now, and try on Joe's costume; there may 
need to be some alteration, but Beth Sawyer 
can attend to that.'' 

“ Why,'' gasped Polly as the color left her 
face, “ how did you know ? But I can't take 
the part ; who'd be Melissa ? And besides I'm 
not good enough. Then I couldn't learn the 
part in just this afternoon.” 

“ But you know it already, don't you, Polly? 


176 jean CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


ril risk it anyway. Just come into the dress- 
ing-room while I tell the girls and we make 
some arrangements with them.’’ 

‘‘All right, Helen; but first please tell me 
who told you I knew the part.” 

“ Never mind how I found out. I just 
know you can do it, and there’s no need of 
wasting any more time over it. It’s your 
chance to win glory for your class, so show 
your sporting blood, that’s a dear.” 

As the two girls walked toward the dressing- 
room and the group of juniors collected there, 
the automobile arrived, and the injured girl 
was taken from the gymnasium and carried 
to the hospital. This was a signal for the 
meet to be over, and the girls and their guests 
began to disperse. The looks of disappoint- 
ment and sorrow on the girls’ faces began to 
disappear gradually, as one by one heard the 
good news that Polly Thompson was going 
to take the part of the Prince in the play, for 
by good luck she knew it almost as well as 
Joe Hallowell, and had been so interested at 
all the rehearsals that she had benefited as 
much from the coaching as Joe herself. 


JUNIOR DAY 


177 


Just as Jean was leaving the building Polly 
went dashing by her, but stopped as Jean called 
out to her. Drawing her close she whispered : 
“ Oh, I’m so glad, Polly, for you and for 
Gamma Chi. It’s splendid and we’re proud 
of you.” 

But Polly looked at her searchingly and 
said: “ Oh, Jean, it was you that told. But 
how did you know? I’ve never told a soul.” 

No, I didn’t tell, Polly, this time, so you 
can’t blame me. Really, I don’t know any- 
thing about it, but I’m awfully proud of you, 
and can hardly wait for to-night to see you 
star. Is there anything I can do to help you 
get ready ? ” 

I don’t think so, Jean; the girls are doing 
everything they can, and I’m trying to keep 
cool and collected, but it’s hard work, and I’m 
getting more excited every minute. I mustn’t 
stop any longer now, for Helen Varney is wait- 
ing for me in the dressing-room. I came out 
to see if I could find Rosalie. Have you seen 
her? I want her to do an errand over at Wel- 
lington.” 

‘'No, I haven’t seen her since breakfast, 


178 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


but if she’s at the house I’ll send her up here. 
I do believe it’s stopped snowing. I hope so, 
for it will make it so much nicer for ‘ Glee ’ 
and the play. Good luck to you, Polly,” and 
Jean caught up with Lois Underwood and Bess 
Johnson and the three walked slowly in the 
direction of Gamma Chi House. 

By three o’clock the chapel was filled with 
the girls and their friends; and shortly after- 
ward the Glee and Mandolin clubs came out 
onto the platform, and received round after 
round of applause before they took their seats. 
Every girl was dressed simply in a white linen 
dress with a bow of black velvet at her neck 
and a Killarney rose tucked through her belt. 
As they stood and waited for the applause to 
cease Belle Moylan, junior class president, 
walked slowly down the center aisle and step- 
ping up to the edge of the platform presented 
a huge bunch of Killarney roses to Margaret 
Brock, leader of the Glee Club. Behind her 
came Miriam Farnsworth, class treasurer, with 
a bunch of violets and lilies of the valley for 
Julia Miles, leader of the Mandolin Club, and 
after this the concert began. 


JUNIOR DAY 


179 


It seemed as though the girls never sang 
better, and song followed song until there came 
the hit of the afternoon, Carolyn Gay’s solo, 
which was a topical song. No one escaped, 
the underclasses, the ‘‘ Stewed G’s,” the fac- 
ulty, conspicuous freshmen, dignified seniors, 
one and all found themselves exposed to the 
wit of the soloist, and every one took it in the 
good spirit with which it was given, and 
laughed when it was some one else’s turn to be 
attacked. There was encore after encore, and 
a new verse each time, until at last poor Caro- 
lyn sank down in her chair completely ex- 
hausted, and the Mandolin Club went on with 
the programme. It was long after five before 
the concert was over, and only then did the 
enthusiasm lessen a little, because everybody 
felt they needed a short breathing spell before 
the pihe de resistance of the day, the presenta- 
tion of ‘‘The Princess,” and the informal 
dance that was to follow in the gymnasium. 

Still it seemed but a few moments before 
the gayly decorated gymnasium was thronged 
to the doors and the sign, “ Standing Room 
Only ” had been displayed at all the entrances. 


i8o JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


The girls were in their newest gowns, and 
wore an eager air of expectancy, for by this 
time every one in college knew that at the 
last minute Polly Thompson was to take the 
part of the Prince and Esther Coburn the part 
of Melissa. From the rising of the curtain 
to the end of the play there was not one dull 
moment: the scenery and costumes had been 
designed and made by the girls ; the acting was 
perfect, and Polly Thompson was the center of 
attention every time she came on the stage. 
There was no question as to her ability to play 
the part of the hero, and she easily became the 
bright, particular star of the performance. 
Girls looked at each other in surprise as one 
scene followed another, and they asked each 
other how it happened that she had not been 
chosen for the part in the first place, and fin- 
ished by saying that there was no question in 
their minds as to who would be president of 
Dramatics next year. 

After each act there were curtain calls galore 
for all the stars, and most of the girls found 
their arms full of flowers from fond admirers. 


JUNIOR DAY 


i8i 


As the curtain fell for the last time the ex- 
cited juniors rose to their feet in a body and 
cried, We want Polly Thompson; we want 
Polly Thompson,’’ so persistently that after a 
while Polly, resplendent as the Prince, came 
out upon the stage rather hesitatingly, and 
bowed her thanks to the shouting girls. Sud- 
denly a cry of ‘‘ Speech ! speech ! ” arose from 
a hundred throats, and Polly shrank back still 
farther against the curtain and tried to open 
her mouth to say something. But her courage 
seemed to desert her, and for a moment she 
could say nothing. Finally she managed to 
gasp: 

‘‘ I thank you girls for everything you have 
done for me to-night — it’s been splendid — ‘ 
and I guess that’s all,” and she ran off the 
stage and disappeared from sight. 

It did not take long for the settees to be re- 
moved from the floor and the music to start 
and the girls to swing out upon the polished 
floor. When Polly came down among the 
dancers, she went straight over to Jean for the 
first dance which she had promised her, and 


i 82 jean CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


when they had finished the encore Polly said: 

Jean, I want to thank you for giving me the 
part of the Prince to-night/’ 

‘‘ Why, Polly, I didn’t give it to you ; the 
class did.” 

Yes, you did, Jean — that is, you made me 
take the part of Melissa the night of ‘ prelims ’ 
down in your room when I had made up my 
mind I wouldn’t take it. You see, if I hadn’t 
kept that part and got so interested in the 
others that I learned the part of the Prince, 
I’d never have been able to help out poor Joe 
to-day. But what I want to know is how 
Helen Varney found out I could do it. No 
one will tell me anything about it, and I don’t 
see any reason for keeping it such a secret. 
Don’t you know anything about it, Jean? ” 
Well, nothing positive, but I have my sus- 
picions — ” 

‘‘ So have I, and will you tell me if mine are 
the same as yours? If it wasn’t you that told, 
and you say it wasn’t, I believe it was Anne, 
for she’s had the queerest look in her eyes every 
time I’ve seen her to-day and she’s seemed so 
happy over something that it’s shone right out 



Polly shrank back still farther against the curtain 

Page 181 . 



JUNIOR DAY 


183 


on her face. IVe about come to the conclu- 
sion that it’s this very thing. Am I right ? ” 
“ I can’t tell you, Polly, but I’ll admit that 
I’ve suspected Anne, too. Now if you want 
to be sure about it why don’t you have the next 
dance with her, and ask her point-blank. She’s 
right over in that corner, and looks as if she 
were waiting for a good partner. Thank you 
so much for this dance,” and then Polly hur- 
ried away to ask Anne for the next. For a 
moment she talked earnestly with Anne, and 
then turning around, smiled over at Jean, and 
nodded her head as much as to say, “ We were 
right; it was Anne.” 


CHAPTER X 


THE SENIOR DANCE 

A lthough jean had stayed until 
the very last minute and danced every 
dance the night before, she was up 
bright and early next morning, for she had a 
music lesson in town with Professor Leighton 
in the morning, this time instead of her usual 
afternoon hour. Fortunately she had but one 
recitation and she felt she could cut that with 
perfect safety, so directly after breakfast she 
left the house to catch the early train. It was 
bitter cold, for it had been steadily growing 
colder since it had stopped snowing the day 
before, but Jean snuggled down into her furs 
and hurried along as fast as she could. 

When she reached the station she found that 
the train was already in and she just managed 
to jump onto the platform as it started. The 
seats were nearly all filled with commuters hid- 
den in their morning newspapers, but finally 
184 


THE SENIOR DANCE 


185 

she saw one just ahead of her with only one 
lady in it, and as she slid into it a pleasant 
voice called out, ‘‘ Why, good morning, Miss 
Cabot ! Are you cutting too ? ” 

To her surprise Jean found the other occu- 
pant of the seat was Miss Emerson, who soon 
explained that she was obliged to make an early 
start for a lecture she was to give that after- 
noon in New York, and for the first time that 
year was missing chapel, but as she had pre- 
vailed upon Miss . Thurston to take her place, 
she felt reconciled to leaving. In turn Jean 
explained that Professor Leighton had written 
her to come in for her lesson that day at half 
past nine if possible, as he was leaving for a 
stay of several days in Chicago, and did not 
wish her to lose a lesson. 

‘‘ Oh, I am glad you are so interested in 
your music, Jean,” said Miss Emerson. ‘‘ I 
was talking with Professor Leighton only last 
evening at a dinner party in town, and he told 
me that he thought you had a brilliant future 
ahead of you, if you would devote plenty of 
time to it. Have you made any plans for next 
year? ” 


i86 jean CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


No, only that Pm going back to California 
for a while. My father is very anxious to 
have me there again, for he says he hasn’t 
really seen me for four years. But I don’t be- 
lieve I’ll be content to live out there always; 
I’ve become so fond of the East that I know I 
shall want to spend part of my time here. But 
I’m not thinking much about the future. I’ll 
let it take care of itself for a while, and per- 
haps I’ll be happier than as if I did a lot of 
worrying about it. 

“ Oh, Miss Emerson, before I forget it, I 
want to tell you that I had a letter from 
Mother this morning, and she says they start 
East the first of April, and go to New York 
to stay with my brother and aunt until Com- 
mencement, but she’s going to run over to col- 
lege in May with the baby to make us a call. 
There’ll be so many of the upper class girls 
that will want to see them that I have decided 
to have a tea in the house; and would it be 
asking too much of you to be one of the 
pourers ? ” 

‘VWhy, I shall be delighted, Jean, if I am 


THE SENIOR DANCE 


187 


in this part of the country. Of course I never 
know when I shall be called away, but I can 
think of no engagements in May that will pre- 
vent my helping you, provided you let me know 
early enough.” 

‘‘ Oh, thank you. Miss Emerson, I’ll let you 
know just as soon as I hear definitely. Here 
we are at the North Station. I can’t tell you 
how much I have enjoyed this ride in. I’m 
delighted we both had to cut chapel the same 
day. I hope you’ll have a splendid time in 
New York; wish I were going, too. Good- 
bye,” and the two parted at the waiting-room, 
more like classmates than college president and 
student, but perhaps this very thing was the 
secret of Miss Emerson’s wonderful popular- 
ity with her girls. 

It was still too cold to enjoy walking, so Jean 
took the elevated train and was soon at Pro- 
fessor Leighton’s studio. Ah, good morn- 
ing, Miss Cabot,” he said as she was removing 
her hat and coat, I am delighted to see you, 
for I didn’t know whether you would be able 
to come this morning or not. But I am glad 


1 88 jean CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


you are here, for I want to talk to you for a 
few moments after the lesson is over. Let us 
begin at once.’’ 

The hour passed very quickly, as Jean went 
from etude to sonata, stopping now and then 
for criticism, and before she realized it Pro- 
fessor Leighton said: 

There, Miss Cabot, that will do for to- 
day. Excellent, excellent. Now shall we talk 
for a little while? Please sit over here and be 
more comfortable.” After Jean had gathered 
up her music, and taken the one comfortable 
chair the studio possessed the professor began 
again : 

Miss Cabot, a wonderful opportunity has 
come to me recently, and I want you to take 
advantage of it, too. I have been offered a 
scholarship in the Leipsic Conservatory for two 
years, with the privilege of taking one of my 
pupils with me for the same length of time. 
I have decided to offer this to you, because it 
has seemed to me that it will mean more to 
you than to any of my other pupils. You 
have reached a point where you need more in- 
struction than I can give you, and there is 


THE SENIOR DANCE 


189 


nothing better in the world than this conserva- 
tory. Of course it will mean hard work, 
probably the hardest you have ever had, and 
two years of it without cessation; but time 
goes quickly when one is happy in what one is 
doing. I shall start late in August, and go 
directly to Leipsic, and hope that you will ac- 
company me. Of course you will want time 
to think this over, and you need not give me 
an answer until I return from Chicago, but 
if you do not care to go, I shall feel obliged 
to take one of my other pupils.” 

Oh, Professor Leighton, why do you of- 
fer this to me ? I surely don’t deserve it, and 
I can’t possibly accept it. I have other plans, 
and two years away from home is such a long, 
long time. Please don’t think I’m ungrateful, 
but it doesn’t seem as if I could.” 

Now, Miss Cabot, please don’t say any- 
thing more about it now; think it over and 
come in to see me two weeks from to-day, and 
we’ll talk it over again. Will you excuse me 
now, for I have two important engagements 
before the noon train. I’m sorry to have to 
hurry you so, but you’ll understand. Oh, I’d 


190 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


almost forgotten. Could you use two tickets 
for a recital in Symphony Hall this afternoon ? 
I had intended going myself, but I’ll be glad if 
you can use them instead.” 

“ Thank you,” said Jean, “ I’ll be delighted 
to go and take my cousin who is almost as fond 
of music as I am. Do you suppose we’ll freeze 
on the way ? I hope it will moderate by noon ; 
it’s awful weather for the last day of Feb- 
ruary.” As Jean took the tickets she bade 
good-bye to Professor Leighton, and started 
out of the room, but she turned back suddenly 
and exclaimed: 

“ I wonder what makes you have so much 
faith in me. Professor. You may make me 
go in spite of myself,” and she tripped down 
the stairs so lightly that the professor smiled to 
himself, as though he was quite satisfied with 
his morning’s work. 

The severe cold made shopping out of the 
question, so Jean went directly to her cousin’s 
and prevailed upon Anna to break another en- 
gagement and go with her to the concert. 
During lunch and on their way to the hall the 
two talked continually about one thing and an- 


THE SENIOR DANCE 


191 

other, but, although Jean found herself several 
times on the point of telling Anna about Pro- 
fessor Leighton’s wonderful offer of the morn- 
ing, something held her back, for she felt this 
was a matter she had best settle for herself. 
Now that Elizabeth and Miss Hooper both 
were gone she had fallen into the way of con- 
fiding in and asking advice from Anna when- 
ever she felt the need of it; but for some un- 
accountable reason she talked of everything else 
to-day, in spite of the fact that the one thing 
which had taken possession of her mind was 
the possibility of the two years’ musical study 
in Leipsic. 

The concert over, Jean refused Anna’s in- 
vitation for dinner and the night, pleading les- 
sons and the cold as an excuse, and leaving her 
cousin at a subway station about five o’clock, 
hurried for her own train. To her dismay she 
found on arriving at the station that the 5:17 
express had just gone, and that there would 
not be another to Ashton for an hour. Rather 
than wait all that time she decided to take a 
train which left a few minutes later, and 
stopped at Somersworth, a small suburban 


192 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 

town three miles this side of Ashton. There 
she could take the electrics, which would carry 
her to the edge of the campus, and from there 
follow a path across the fields to Gamma Chi 
House. 

All went well until she left the electrics and 
stepped out into the stinging cold, then in- 
stantly she regretted her hasty decision, for she 
realized it was going to be a long hard walk 
against the driving north wind in the semi- 
darkness which had settled over everything. 
But it was too late to turn back, and she 
plunged boldly forward with her chin down 
in her furs. After a little she found it harder 
and harder to make much progress, for again 
and again the path seemed to lose itself, and 
the pale lights ahead of her grew dimmer and 
dimmer. One of her hands began to feel 
numb and she wondered if it were much use to 
try to reach the house. Why not give it up 
for to-night, and sink down where she was, 
and wait for the morning. A feeling of drow- 
siness crept over her, and she was about to yield 
herself up to it when she caught sight of a 
lantern almost directly ahead of her. Rous- 


THE SENIOR DANCE 


193 


ing herself with a supreme effort, she shouted 
as loud as she could, and with a thrill of joy 
heard a cheery response. In a moment by the 
light of the lantern she recognized the ruddy 
face of Mr. Chapin, the express agent, al- 
though he was wrapped up very heavily against 
the cold. 

‘'Why, Miss Cabot, what on earth be you 
doing down here such a night as this is? It 
sure beats all records for cold this winter in 
spite of the fact that to-morrow’s the first day 
of March. Late spring this year all right, or 
I miss my guess. But you’re a long way from 
college, and going in the wrong direction, too. 
Aren’t you cold? Seems to me you’d better 
stop a little while to my house. It’s jest over 
here, and warm up a bit.” 

“Oh, thank you, Mr. Chapin. I guess I 
have lost my way and I’m almost frozen. If I 
hadn’t met you just now I think I should never 
have reached college alive. It just seemed as 
though I couldn’t go one step farther, and I 
believe I was freezing inch by inch. But if I 
can get warm a minute at your house I’ll be all 
right again, and if you will start me in the 


194 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


right direction I’ll get back without any more 
trouble.” 

‘‘ Well, let me take your arm, Miss Cabot, 
and we’ll soon be home, and after you’ve got 
warm and had a bit of supper. I’ll take you up 
by the main road, for this path ain’t the easiest 
way in the world, after all. Can you walk all 
right this way? Don’t be afraid to lean on 
me. I’ll carry you if you say so.” 

“ Oh, no, I feel better already, Mr. Chapin, 
and I’m sure I shall be all right if I ever get 
warm again.” 

So the two walked back to Mr. Chapin’s 
small, but comfortable little cottage, and were 
soon in the process of thawing out. In about 
half an hour Jean felt so much better that she 
insisted upon starting out again in spite of the 
cordial invitation she received to spend the 
night where she was. It did not take long for 
them to reach Gamma Chi House, and hur- 
riedly Jean bade Mr. Chapin good-night and 
ran up the walk and on to the piazza and dis- 
appeared from sight. 

But once in the house her strength seemed 
to fail her again. She was very tired, and 


THE SENIOR DANCE 


195 


went straight to her room, where she found 
Anne at her desk busily writing letters. 

“ Oh, Jean,'’ said Anne, ‘‘ I’m so glad youVe 
come, I’ve got the greatest news to tell you. 
But, child alive, what is the matter with you? 
You look like a ghost. Sit down a minute, 
and let me help you out of your coat. What’s 
happened ? ” 

Nothing, Anne, except that I’m tired, and 
I got an awful scare to-night. I just missed 
freezing, and if it hadn’t been for Mr. Chapin, 
by this time I’d probably be somewhere down 
on the Golf Course frozen stiff and stark, and 
you’d be minus a room-mate. But thank good- 
ness, I’m here all right, and if I can only once 
get thoroughly warmed I guess I’ll pull 
through. I’ll go to bed and take all the hot 
water bottles and blankets you can find, heaped 
up ‘ in rank profusion,’ and by morning I’ll 
have forgotten all about it. Oh, I almost for- 
got about your news. What is it ? Can’t you 
tell me now while you’re helping me? ” 

‘‘ No, it will keep; let me get you into bed 
first, and then I’ll see whether you can stand 
the shock or not.” 


196 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


Soon Jean was lying in her own bed almost 
hidden from sight by the blankets which Anne 
had piled one on top of another, and insisted 
that Anne should relieve her mentally, as she 
had physically, and tell her the great news. 

‘‘ Well,” began Anne, ‘‘ it’s just this : At 
the Faculty meeting this afternoon, after much 
argument, that august body decided to grant 
our petition ; and we can have men, for the first 
time in the history of the college, at our senior 
dance. I was just writing to Billy when you 
came in, to have him save the date; for the 
girls decided right after the meeting to hustle 
it up and have it two weeks from last night, 
before the Thornton Dramatics. Isn’t it per- 
fectly wonderful to think of dancing with real 
live men, instead of make-believes, at our own 
senior dance. Now, if there’s nothing more 
I can do for you, I think I’ll put out the lights 
so you can sleep and I’ll go back and finish my 
letter. I suppose you’ll write Bob in the morn- 
ing. I’m crazy to have him come, for you 
know I’ve never danced with him yet, and I’ve 
been wanting to all the year.” 

Don’t worry on that score, Anne ; when I 


THE SENIOR DANCE 


197 


write ril tell him to save you every other dance. 
Now don’t let me keep you another minute. 
You’ve been awfully good to me, and I feel 
lots better already. Give my best to Billy, and 
tell him I had a queer dream about him the 
other night, which I’ll try and remember to 
tell him at the dance.” And then as she said 
good-night, Anne switched off the lights and 
went quietly out of the room. 

At last after days of waiting came the night 
of the Senior Dance, and the girls and their 
guests wended their way to the gymnasium. 
As they entered they found it was lighted by 
hundreds of varicolored Japanese lanterns. 
Long strings of smilax hung on the walls, the 
orchestra was concealed behind banks of palms, 
and along both sides of the room were boxes 
formed by fir trees in which the girls were to 
receive their friends. The patronesses were 
to receive the guests at the north end of the 
room in front of a background of palms and 
flowers. 

Jean and Bob were among the last to arrive, 
for Bob had missed his train from Cambridge, 
and finding no other means of conveyance had 


198 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


been obliged to wait an hour for another. But 
Jean was not at all dismayed at thought of find- 
ing Bob partners, for the orders had been made 
out days before; then, too. Bob hated dancing, 
so as a special inducement Jean had offered 
him as many of her dances as he wanted, and 
he had wanted every other one and all the 
extras besides, although he declared he should 
insist upon sitting most of them out. 

One dance followed another ; the music was 
perfect, the floor like wax; the dresses of the 
girls soft and filmy; and a feeling of good fel- 
lowship and happiness prevailed. And al- 
though Jean’s mirror had not failed to tell her 
how beautiful she was that night in her shim- 
mering pale-green gown, if you had looked 
closely you might have detected a worried look 
in her eyes and a restless anxiety beneath her 
apparent gayety. To-morrow she must meet 
Professor Leighton and tell him her decision 
about the two years in Leipsic ; every day since 
he had told her about it she had turned the 
matter over and over, first coming to one con- 
clusion and then to another, but never really 
reaching a decision. As yet she had not men- 


THE SENIOR DANCE 


199 


tioned it to any one, but she felt she could keep 
it to herself no longer, so after she and Bob left 
the supper-room, to Bob’s astonishment, Jean 
declared she was so tired she did not want to 
dance the next three or four dances and asked 
him if he minded sitting them out with her in 
the little gallery, which had been decorated 
with trees and furniture to make a cozy corner 
for just such emergencies. Bob was only too 
glad, and they left the crowded floor and to 
their delight found the cozy corner unoccu- 
pied. 

Jean was strangely silent at first, but after 
one or two trivial remarks, with a hysterical 
little laugh and a burst of tears she said : 

Bob, I’m going to Leipsic with Professor 
Leighton to study for two years.” 

Once it was out, Jean was as surprised as 
Bob, and it took them both several moments 
to recover from their astonishment. They 
then discussed it seriously for a long time, and 
when they left the balcony for the dancing 
again, there was a new light in Jean’s eyes and 
a quiet, happy look on her face in place of the 
tired expression which had rested there earlier 


200 jean CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


in the evening. For with her decision to go 
away for two years had come a certain prom- 
ise to Bob for something at the end of that 
two years which would be worth waiting for 
all that time; and then Bob laughingly whis- 
pered : 

“Perhaps something may keep you from go- 
ing, and I sha’nT have to wait so long after 
all.” 

When they began to dance again, every- 
thing seemed different; Jean danced as she 
had never danced before. Her feet scarcely 
seemed to touch the floor, and even Bob de- 
clared dancing was never like this. With real 
reluctance they heard the last notes of the last 
encore die away, and then Jean exclaimed: 

“ Oh, it’s all over. I never hated to have a 
dance end so much in all my life. Hasn’t it 
been perfect ! ” 

Bob declared that it had and added, “ But 
we’ll say nothing about it till June.” 

After the good-nights had been said, the men 
started in their various directions homeward, 
the gymnasium shrouded in darkness, the won- 
derful dance a thing of the past, the Gamma 


THE SENIOR DANCE 


201 


Chi girls found themselves up in Lois Under- 
wood’s room drinking hot chocolate. Between 
ecstatic reminiscences Lois suddenly spoke out 
above the others, exclaiming: 

“ Seems to me you danced pretty often with 
Bob, Jean, and I lost track of you entirely sev- 
eral times. Were you trying out the bal- 
cony? ” 

“ Why, I didn’t dance more than half the 
dances with him, and I confess I did sit out 
some of them, but I had a perfect right to. 
I spent most of the day decorating the place 
and it’s some work arranging those fir trees, 
and I was dead tired before I started. If I’m 
ever chairman of another decorating commit- 
tee I’ll hire some one to do the hard work; 
it’s almost too much to ask of any one to work 
all day and dance all night.” 

“But, girls, speaking of Jean’s dancing so 
often with Bob,” broke in Anne, “ did you 
notice Vee Montgomery? She danced every 
single dance with her man and I didn’t see her 
introduce him to a soul. Such devotion ! The 
mean thing to keep such a good-looker all to 
herself. I can’t understand it, for she’s gen- 


202 jean CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 

erally so anxious to let us know all about her 
men. Who can throw any light on the mat- 
ter?” 

“ I canT,” replied Lois, but I didn’t par- 
ticularly like his looks ; he was big and broad- 
shouldered, all right, but there was something 
about his manner that wasn’t just right. How 
about the rest of you? ” 

“ I think it’s perfectly scandalous for a girl 
to dance every dance with one man, no matter 
how much they’re in love, or think they are,” 
said Anne. “ I scent a mystery in this. 
Who’s the villain ? ” 

‘‘ Well, Anne, we’ll appoint you a commit- 
tee of one to investigate this matter. You 
generally land things, once you get on the 
scent. Tell us who was Vee’s ardent admirer 
to-night and we’ll pay your bill at Conant’s 
this month. What do you say, girls? We’ll 
give her until to-morrow night at ten o’clock, 
and if she doesn’t solve the mystery by that 
time, we’ll make her treat us all to Saturday 
dinner at the Inn.” 

Cries of approval seconded Lois’s sugges- 
tion, and Anne instantly arose and shouted: 


THE SENIOR DANCE 


203 


I’ll do it, I’ll do it, if it takes my life. Vee 
and I haven’t spoken since the ‘ Circus,’ but 
I’ll ferret out the secret of her life, for when 
you see my bill at Conant’s, you’ll think it was 
worth risking everything for. You’ve saved 
my life, for I didn’t possibly see how I could 
pay the bill and go to New York for the Easter 
vacation. Au revoir, me to my downy couch 
to dream out my plan of campaign. Not a 
word till to-morrow night, but meet me here 
as the clock is striking ten, and I’ll reveal the 
story of Vera Montgomery’s dark and dubious 
past.” 

So the next night the girls awaited Anne’s 
arrival in Lois’s room and just as the clock was 
striking ten she came hurrying in, her eyes 
sparkling, so that no one doubted she had been 
successful in her day’s work. She waved a 
piece of paper in the faces of the girls and 
shouted : 

Here it is, girls, my bill at Conant’s, just 
came to-day. I hand it over to you to pay, 
for listen. I’ve won, but first, I must pledge you 
to secrecy, not one word of what I am about 
to tell you and second, don’t ask me for any 


204 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


explanations. Only this much I can say — 
Vee Montgomery took her father’s chauffeur 
to our dance. He’s French and doesn’t speak 
much English, so naturally she wasn’t over 
anxious for us to meet him. It seems she 
asked about a dozen of her numerous admirers, 
and none of them could come, so at the last 
moment she telegraphed her father to send the 
chauffeur, for she knew he was good-looking 
and a wonderful dancer — and there you have 
it! Isn’t it rich? It would have been bad 
enough for any of the rest of us, but Vee — 
Oh, I forgot to add that his name is Maurice. 
That’s his front name, but the rest is simply 
unpronounceable. Now cross your hands, and 
swear not to breath a word of what I’m telling 
you.” 

“ But how do we know she’s telling the 
truth, girls?” said Lois. “This sounds just 
like one of her yarns.” 

“ Well, Lois, I must say I like that,” replied 
Anne. “ It’s the gospel truth, and you can be- 
lieve it or not, just as you please. I’m dead 
sorry I can’t take you to Vee herself to prove 
it, but she left this afternoon for her cousin’s 


THE SENIOR DANCE 


205 


wedding in Providence. Anyway you prom- 
ised to pay the bill, and here it is. I am telling 
you the truth this time, if I never did before; 
so good-night. IVe a whole book to read for 
review to-morrow. It’s a rich one on the 
fastidious Vera, but it’s certainly helped out 
my finances tremendously. Three cheers for 
Maurice the chauffeur ! ” and Anne put her 
arm round Jean, and started with her out of 
the room. 


CHAPTER XI 
!Anne’s auction 

N ext morning Jean was awakened 
very early by insistent little cries 
from Anne’s bed. 

“ Oh, Jean, do wake up. Fve been awake 
for perfect hours, and I can’t stand it any 
longer. I’ve got an awful sore-throat, which 
I didn’t have a sign of when I went to bed 
last night, and I’ve had an awful dream, and 
the strange thing about it is that I think there’s 
some connection between the two. If I don’t 
tell some one^about it soon. I’ll die, for I’ve 
lain here and shivered with fright ever since it 
first began to grow light.” 

“ What is it, Anne ? Do tell me at once ; 
it must be something very serious indeed to 
keep you awake, for generally the difficulty 
comes in trying to keep you from sleeping. 
I’ll go over into your bed, and then you won’t 
have to talk so loud and tire your throat. 
206 


ANNE’S AUCTION 


207 


And as soon as you get up, you must do some- 
thing so that it won’t get any worse. There, 
now, I’m ready; do begin.” 

Well, it seemed as though we were living 
in Merton again, which was like a convent or 
monastery of dark gray stone, built in low, 
rambly mediaeval fashion. I had come down 
to breakfast a little late, and as I entered the 
dining room, I happened to cough slightly once 
or twice, but thought nothing about it until 
afterward. I took my seat with the girls as 
usual, and began to eat breakfast. I had eaten 
but a few mouthsful when Mrs. Thompson, 
dressed like a Sister of Charity, came up to 
me, and said she would like to speak to me in 
her room as soon as I had finished breakfast. 
Realizing as I did that we girls were never 
called into her room unless something serious 
threatened us, I had some difficulty in finish- 
ing the meal, as I turned over in my mind one 
after another possible offenses I might have 
committed during the week. I could decide 
upon no one thing, for my conduct had been 
exceptionally good for me, and I felt I de- 
served reward rather than punishment. 


208 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


Plucking up my courage, I hastened to 
Mrs. Thompson’s room, and after knocking 
timidly was told to enter and seat myself be- 
side the table opposite her. After what seemed 
hours she began, ‘ You have a severe cold. Miss 
Cockran. I heard you cough as you entered 
the dining-room for breakfast, and I have been 
thinking the matter over since. How does it 
happen that you have neglected it, when you 
know one of our strictest rules is that every 
form of disease must be attended to as soon 
as the first symptom is detected? What have 
you to say for yourself? ’ 

‘‘ ‘ But, Sister,’ I gasped, ' I haven’t a cold. 
I did cough, perhaps, when I came into the din- 
ing-room, but it is the first time I have coughed 
for months and I feel perfectly well.’ 

“ ‘ That is no excuse,’ she answered ; ' you 
have a cold, and I wish you to go to Mother 
Emerson at once with this letter I have writ- 
ten her, and return to me after you have talked 
with her.’ Now you can imagine the fear and 
consternation that filled my heart at the mere 
mention of the name Mother Emerson, for 
never in my worst days had I been sent to her. 


ANNE’S AUCTION 


209 


and I dreaded it as I had never before dreaded 
anything in my life. As I was loath to leave 
the room, I did not stir until I heard the door 
opened and felt myself pushed rather roughly 
out of the room, and left alone in the dark pas- 
sage. As I knew Sister Thompson stood at 
her door watching me, I did not dare do other- 
wise than what she had told me, and I hurried 
toward the door of our Mother Superior’s 
room. 

‘‘ It was the first time I had ever been alone 
in her presence, and I trembled like a leaf as I 
knelt down before her. After she had told me 
to arise and sit down on the floor at her feet, 
she read the letter I had put into her hands 
upon entering, and then coming to me said, 
‘ Anne, let me look you over.’ She closely ex- 
amined my throat and felt of me here and 
there without a word, and then said slowly, 
‘ Anne, you are going to have diphtheria. 
Now diphtheria is generally fatal, and always 
contagious, so you must be buried this after- 
noon at three. You will go directly back to 
Sister Thompson, and she will take you down 
to the coffin vault in order that you may be 


210 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


fitted to your coffin. Then you may return to 
your own room, put everything in order, write 
a letter to your mother or father, dress your- 
self in your prayer robes and spend the rest of 
the morning in prayer for the forgiveness of 
your sins. I will have some food carried to 
your room at one o’clock, and at ten minutes 
of three I myself shall come to lead you down 
again to the coffin vault, and as the clock 
strikes three, you will bid farewell to this 
world. That is all, if you understand my di- 
rections.’ 

‘ Oh, Mother Emerson,’ I screamed, ‘ bury 
me alive! What are you saying? I’m not 
sick, I haven’t a cold, I haven’t diphtheria, and 
I don’t want to die. Please, oh, please, let me 
live I ’ 

‘ Not another word, Anne. I have said 
you are to die, because you coughed twice this 
morning in Sister Thompson’s presence; your 
throat has three patches upon it now ; and you 
cannot escape diphtheria. For the sake of the 
other girls who must not be exposed and so 
run the risk of death, you should be willing to 
sacrifice yourself. I am astonished at your 


ANNE’S AUCTION 


2II 


selfishness. And finally, remember it is not 
that you have diphtheria now, but that you 
may have it to-morrow, which necessitates my 
acting thus.’ 

I hardly know how I got back to Sister 
Thompson’s room, and told her what Mother 
Superior had said to me ; but I must have done 
so, for the next thing I knew she was putting 
a lighted taper into my hand, and taking one 
herself told me to follow her. Down endless 
dark and gloomy passages we walked, each 
one getting narrower and damper than the 
one before, until it seemed as though one could 
go no farther and breathe. And then we 
stopped, and she bade me knock three times 
on what she said was a door. It did not seem 
as though I had the strength to knock once, 
but after I had tried it twice, the stone door 
opened, and a flood of light from myriads of 
tapers revealed the ugliest little man in the 
world and a great room filled with nothing but 
coffins. Without a word we two stepped into 
the room ; the door was closed ; Sister Thomp- 
son whispered a few words to the little man, 
and then taking me by the hand said, ‘ Stand 


212 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


up here, Anne Cockran, and let Cephero meas- 
ure you/ 

I felt his long skinny fingers pass over my 
body, and I shut my eyes to get away from his 
gruesomeness and the horror of the room. 
But in a moment he seized my hand and led 
me to the farthest corner of the room. I felt, 
rather than saw, the stealthy figure of Sister 
Thompson behind me, and I knew that guarded 
as I was by these two human monsters, there 
was no escape. Finally we stopped, and she 
said, ‘ Here is something that seems to be 
about your size. You may get into it now, 
and see if you can lie down comfortably. 
There may be something for Cephero to do 
before we return this afternoon.’ 

I stepped upon a stone, which seemed to 
be there for that very purpose, and climbed into 
the cold stone coffin. Quaking in every limb, 
I lay down and found it a perfect fit. Then 
Sister Thompson lifted, as though by super- 
human strength, an immense stone cover, and 
said, ‘ There, Anne Cockran, everything seems 
to be all right. Cephero certainly made a suc- 
cess of this one, for generally there is a great 


ANNE’S AUCTION 


213 


deal to be done. Now it will be exactly like 
this at three o’clock, only instead of holding 
this cover above your head as I am doing now, 
I shall drop it as soon as you lie down, and a 
few moments after you will stop breathing, 
and Ashton will go on without you.’ 

“If she said more, I did not hear it The 
next thing I knew, I was being lifted out of 
the coffin by that awful creature, Cephero, and 
commanded by Sister Thompson to follow her 
back to her room by the same way we had come. 
It seemed as though we would never reach the 
end of those awful passages, but we did, and 
then she took me by the arm as though she 
were afraid I might escape her and led me to 
our room, for it seemed as though you and I 
were rooming together there. With the part- 
ing words, ‘ Follow out Mother Emerson’s in- 
structions exactly,’ she left me, and I fairly 
staggered into the room, and you caught me 
as I was about to fall to the floor. 

“When I was able to tell you in whispers 
what had happened, you burst into tears, ex- 
claiming, ‘ How terrible, Anne ! What can we 
do? You must not die like this. It is the 


214 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


most cruel thing I ever heard of. But wait a 
minute. I have it! I think I can save you 
after all. I have a written permission to go 
to Cesta Williams’s house at twelve o’clock. 
Now you can go in my place, and wear my 
long cloak and the hood over your face, and 
as you go out of the door hand Sister Whiting 
my written permission signed by Sister 
Thompson, and she will let you out without 
suspecting it is you instead of me. You know 
she’s almost blind, and can hardly distinguish 
us girls. Once out you can go to the nearest 
telephone, and call up the police, and by the 
time Mother Emerson will have come to our 
room for you, and demanded an explanation 
of me, the police following you can rush in 
and save everything. Isn’t it worth trying? ’ 

I agreed that it was, and we worked fever- 
ishly until noon, when, wrapped close in your 
cloak and hood and clutching the permission 
slip, I walked softly down the corridor to the 
outer door. Just as I was on the point of put- 
ting the slip into Sister Whiting’s hand, I heard 
a step behind me, then felt an arm laid upon 
my shoulder, and after some one had peered 


ANNE’S AUCTION 


215 


into my face, I heard that awful voice of Sis- 
ter Thompson saying, ‘ So this is the way you 
disobey me, is it, Anne Cockran ? I suspected 
as much. For this offense you shall not only 
die yourself, but at the same time and in the 
same way, your accomplice, Jean Cabot, shall 
die. Go back to your room and tell her what 
I say, only from now on I shall follow you 
every moment until you die, for you have 
proved that you cannot be trusted/ 

“ But I heard no more, for suddenly I 
opened my eyes, and found myself here in bed 
shivering as though it were the coldest day in 
winter, arid strange to say, I realized instantly 
that I had a sore-throat and a chill. Now I’ve 
told you the dream, but how do you account 
for it? Do you wonder I was frightened 
nearly to death ? ” 

‘‘ It is awful, Anne ; and I don’t wonder you 
were frightened. Why didn’t you speak to 
me before? I can explain it only in this way. 
If I remember right, you were reading your 
mediaeval history the last thing before you 
went to sleep last night, and got your mind 
filled with thoughts of convents and the cruel- 


2i6 jean CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


ties of the middle ages. Then you probably 
caught cold running round the campus to find 
out that scandal about Vera Montgomery. 
Seems to me when you came into Lois’s room 
from out doors at ten o’clock, you didn’t wear 
a coat or sweater, but just your sailor-suit. 
It was a very chilly night, and probably you 
started a cold or sore-throat then. Now don’t 
you think you really should have worn a 
sweater ? ” 

‘‘Yes, Jean; but positively I haven’t one 
that will hold together long enough to wear.” 

“ That’s no excuse, Anne ; you know I have 
several, and you’re welcome to mine any time.” 

“ I know, dear, but I’m always borrowing 
something of yours, and I get absolutely tired 
of it. But I confess I need another sweater 
pretty badly just now, for these late spring 
days, and I can’t possibly stretch my allowance 
far enough to get a new one before Commence- 
ment. I don’t understand why it is that I am 
always dead broke, and still have nothing to 
show for all the money I spend. I can’t com- 
plain about my allowance, for dear old Dad 
is generosity itself. But I have a proposition. 


ANNE’S AUCTION 


217 


Jean ; will you make me a price on one of your 
second-hand sweaters? I won’t take it as a 
gift, for I know you will offer it, but Td love 
to buy one, so it would be my very own to use 
just as I wanted to. Probably I’d no sooner 
have it than I’d lose it in the * Pond,’ or loan 
it to some departing guest who would never 
remember to return it, — that’s generally the 
way my things go. But what do you say to 
my proposition, Jean? Name your price, and 
you shall have it.” 

“ Why, Anne, I couldn’t sell you any of my 
things; but you’re welcome to a sweater and 
anything else I have that you want. I’ve loads 
of things I must get rid of before the end of 
June. Why, I’ve never thought of what I 
was going to do with all my worn out clothes 
and my pictures and furniture. I can’t take 
them down to Maine or back to California 
with me. What do people generally do with 
such things ? ” 

Oh, Jean, wait a minute before you say 
another word; I’ve got the most glorious 
scheme you ever heard of. Let’s have an auc- 
tion and sell off all our old things! I’ve got 


2i8 jean CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


a lot, too, when you come to think of it, and 
ril collect everything I can find in the other 
girls’ rooms and give them a certain percentage 
of what their things sell for. We can serve 
tea and crackers, and invite all our friends and 
make a regular party out of it. I’m dying for 
a party. We haven’t had one for ages. Then 
when it’s all over, we’ll divide the money ; you 
can give yours to the Foreign Missionary So- 
ciety or the Fiji Islanders or the Ashton 
Athletic Association, if you want to, but mine 
goes to buy some Commencement luxuries. 
What do you say to that ? ” 

“ It’s a fine idea, Anne, but are you perfectly 
sure it’s what one might expect from two dig- 
nified seniors ? ” 

Why, I don’t see anything so very un- 
dignified about it. It’s a perfectly honest way 
to earn a little money, and so long as the means 
justify the ends I fail to see where any one 
can find any fault with it. It isn’t as though 
we were going to cheat people, for we’ll give 
them more than their money’s worth every 
time. I’ll ask Miss Emerson, if you think 
best.” 


ANNE’S AUCTION 


219 


Why, no, Anne, of course there’s no need 
of that; the more I think of it the better I 
like the idea, but instead of giving my share 
of the money to any one else. I’ll give it to 
you if you’ll take the responsibility and man- 
agement of the affair. I’m up to my ears now 
in work for the play, and it doesn’t seem as 
though I could take on another thing, and be- 
sides everything else I want to have that tea 
for Mother when she comes, and as her com- 
ing is so very indefinite, that will take time, 
too. But you go ahead with this, for you 
really haven’t anything extra just now, and 
you’re way ahead in your work and sure of 
passing everything.” 

All right, Jean, so long as I have your ap- 
proval, I’ll go ahead, and see what I can do 
with my ^ Get - Rich - Quick - Wallingford ’ 
scheme.” 

Several days later gaudy posters adorned 
the campus trees, announcing the forthcoming 
auction, with special warning to come early on 
account of the limited space of the auction 
room, and adding that tea and crackers would 
be served to all guests. The Gamma Chi girls 


220 jean CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


became highly excited over the event, and ran- 
sacked their closets and drawers and book- 
cases for available material. On the day it- 
self great quantities of things poured into 
Anne’s room. Beds and tables were piled 
high, and in every corner were boxes and bas- 
kets of ‘‘ saleables.” Pieces of furniture had 
to be put along both sides of the hall as well, 
and on every projection were hung wares to 
tempt the feminine eye. Some of the things 
looked almost new, and others were so frayed 
and worn that even a West Side rummage sale 
would have scorned them. There were coats 
and sweaters, scarfs and hats, shirt-waists, 
middy blouses, all kinds of shoes and slippers, 
ribbons . and an infinite variety of neckwear, 
underclothes, table-covers and soft pillows, 
dishes and cooking utensils, candlesticks and 
jardinieres, every known kind of jewelry, fans, 
curling irons, books and magazines by the doz- 
ens, pictures, hot-water bags and sticky medi- 
cine bottles, — everything, in fact, that might 
have collected in a girl’s room during her four 
years at college. 

The girls began to arrive long before the 


ANNE’S AUCTION 


221 


hour set for the actual sale, but this gave them 
the desired opportunity to look around and s^e 
what they really wanted. By four o’clock 
there was not another inch of room either on 
the scene of action or in the hallway. Girls 
were packed in like sardines, and were clutch- 
ing madly at their pocketbooks and bags, as 
though they feared if they once lost them in 
the mad scramble, they would never be able 
to locate them again. They were mostly per- 
sonal friends of Anne and Jean from all the 
classes, but there was a good smattering of 
others, who had come as much from curiosity 
as for the good time. Here and there were 
ambitious freshmen, who had undoubtedly 
come with the fixed determination to buy some- 
thing that had belonged to these popular se- 
niors, and then boast of it all through sopho- 
more year. 

Anne, as the auctioneer, wore a long linen 
duster over her sailor-suit, a huge red bandana 
handkerchief round her neck, a slouch hat set 
rakishly on her head, and carried a broken 
riding crop in her hand. She mounted a table 
in the middle of the room, and began : 


222 jean CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 

‘‘ Well, girls, before I go on with the real 
sale of these valuable articles, I have one an- 
nouncement to make. We desire that every- 
thing bought to-day shall be paid for and taken 
away at the close of the sale, except, of course, 
the furniture, which of necessity must remain 
in our rooms until after Commencement. 
However, we will give you guarantee tickets 
which will enable you to claim said articles at 
that time. In case of undergraduates who will 
leave before Commencement, we will see that 
said articles are placed in their respective 
rooms, upon the receipt of sufficient money to 
pay for transportation. If this is clearly un- 
derstood, we are ready to begin. The first 
article for sale is this sweater, slightly worn, 
to be sure, but still good for several years. 
How much am I offered ? ’’ 

There was lively competition, for several 
girls recognized it as one of Jean’s, — a long, 
woolly gray one with great deep pockets. It 
finally went to Phoebe Batelli at a fabulous 
figure, far above its original value; but money 
was nothing to Phoebe Batelli when she wanted 
a thing, and she could already see herself in 


ANNE’S AUCTION 


223 


the future strolling the campus dressed in her 
new possession, which she had finally outbid 
from Hortense Day, a haughty junior in her 
dormitory. One thing followed another amid 
shouts of laughter at Anne’s witty remarks 
and the excited voices of the bidders, as they 
ran the prices up higher and higher, sometimes 
in the real desire to possess a thing, but more 
often to get it away from some one else. 

When most of the smaller articles were gone, 
Anne suddenly discovered a pair of pearl ear- 
rings, department store pearls, without a doubt, 
— and held them up as a great treasure. 

Here, girls, is the real treasure of the 
afternoon, the discarded ear-rings of a cer- 
tain junior beauty. They have been through 
many varied experiences, have seen the Har- 
vard- Yale game, been to the Yale Prom, over 
to Washington, to any number of dinners in 
town ; they have listened to countless love son- 
nets and sweet nothings of adoring suitors, 
have kissed the fair ears of — well, never mind 
the name. How much am I offered for this 
art museum treasure? Start it high. No 
low bids considered.” 


224 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


Ten cents,” came somewhere from the 
crowd, and a burst of laughter followed. 

“ Twenty cents ! ” And so on until one dol- 
lar was reached. 

Then Anne began again : What ! only one 

dollar for the prize of the whole collection. 
I am astonished at your lack of judgment. 
Let me pass it among you that you may see 
there's no deception in the matter, and that the 
catches are all right. Here, see for yourselves. 
Once more, do I hear another bid? Come, 
come. Pm waiting for business.” 

And then to the surprise of every one, a deep 
voice somewhere down the crowded hallway 
cried out “ Two dollars, two dollars,” and 
every one turned to see who was so wildly ex- 
travagant. But after one glance Anne and 
Jean gasped with astonishment, and calling for 
a passageway, hurried down the hall to greet 
Mrs. Cabot, who had arrived so unexpectedly, 
and as they thought at the moment, so inop- 
portunely. But to their delight she entered 
into the auction with the right spirit, and de- 
clared that as she needed lots of things, this 
was a good opportunity to buy them. 



“How MUCH AM I OFFERED FOR THIS ART MUSEUM TREASURE ? 

Start it high.” — Page 223. 







ANNE’S AUCTION 


225 


So there was nothing to do but continue with 
the sale. But about half past five the last 
thing was sold, and the girls went down to the 
living room for tea. Mrs. Cabot instantly be- 
came the center of attraction and found herself 
continually surrounded by the old girls and 
the new ones, too, who seemed just as glad to 
meet her as the others. 

“Well,” said Jean to herself, “if this isn’t 
the finest surprise. Here I have been planning 
all the spring to have a tea for Mother as soon 
as she arrived, and here she is, and the tea has 
been just as nice as though I had planned it 
especially for her. Only Fm sorry that she 
didn’t bring the baby and that Miss Emerson 
and some of the faculty aren’t here, but per- 
haps later I can have them by themselves.” 

When the last girl had gone, and Jean and 
Anne and Mrs. Cabot were in their room 
counting the money, Anne cried out: 

“ Why, Jean Cabot, will you believe it, we’ve 
made $148.76! Why, it doesn’t seem possi- 
ble! But I could never keep all that money 
for myself. I should feel like a robber. I tell 
you what we’ll do. We’ll take it to Miss Em- 


226 jean CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 

erson, and ask her if we can start a scholarship 
to be called the ‘ Gamma Chi Scholarship/ 
What do you think of it, Jean? ” 

It’s splendid, Anne, and I’ll add a hundred 
dollars to it. That will make a better start.” 

And I’ll add enough to make it five hun- 
dred dollars,” said Mrs. Cabot, “and I’m 
proud to think of you girls doing it. Will it 
be allowable, even if I’m not a full-fledged 
Gamma Chi, but just an honorary faculty 
member?” 

“ Well, I guess a little thing like that won’t 
make any difference,” affirmed Anne. “ Can 
we go to Miss Emerson’s to-night? I’m so 
anxious to get rid of this money. It fairly 
burns my hands. Hasn’t it been loads of fun 
and one grand success ? ” 

“Yes, it has,” replied Jean; “but I can’t 
quite see where you’ve gained anything out of 
it. You’re giving up all the money you 
worked so hard for, and you didn’t buy a 
sweater or anything else for yourself. So as 
far as I can see you’ve lost all around.” 

“ No, she hasn’t,” said Mrs. Cabot. “ She’s 
won a great deal I think by giving the money 


ANNE’S AUCTION 


227 


for a scholarship, and then I’ve brought you 
both a sweater. It’s a queer coincidence, but 
in town yesterday when I was shopping, I saw 
some new imported coat-sweaters and so I 
couldn’t resist buying two, knowing as I did 
that Jean had a birthday to-morrow. So after 
all I think Anne’s come out at the best end 
of the auction. But now sit down and rest 
a bit before dinner, and tell me all about your- 
selves, and to-night we’ll run over to Miss 
Emerson’s and talk with her about the schol- 
arship.” 


CHAPTER XII 


MAY DAYS 

W HEN Miss Emerson was told that 
evening of the proposed Gamma 
Chi scholarship, she was delighted, 
and said she would lay the matter before the 
trustees immediately. If they approved, as 
she knew they would, she would keep it a secret 
until the Commencement dinner, when she 
would present it, with some other pleasing an- 
nouncements, to the whole body of the alum- 
nae. But pleased as she was with this sur- 
prise, she seemed to be equally so to see Mrs. 
Cabot again and begged her to remain as her 
guest. Mrs. Cabot explained, however, that 
she had only run over from New York under 
protest for two days with Jean, so she could 
help celebrate her birthday, and had left the 
baby in care of the nurse and Mr. Cabot for 
the time being, but only on condition that she 
keep her promise and return on Friday. Miss 
228 


MAY DAYS 


229 


Emerson then insisted that unless she could 
come on again with the baby, she must prom- 
ise to assist at her reception Commencement 
Day. This was indeed an honor which Mrs. 
Cabot appreciated, and she accepted with a 
great deal of pleasure. 

Every moment of her short visit was filled 
with pleasure for Jean, and with much reluc- 
tance she saw her board the Limited for 
New York. But she knew it would be only 
a little while before she would return with the 
rest of the family for Commencement week, 
and she went back to Ashton to settle down to 
work again. 

And then came those golden days of May 
and June, days filled to the brim with mingled 
happiness and sadness; when one almost for- 
gets the bitterness of final examinations and 
parting in the rapid succession of pleasures. 
These are the seniors’ days, and if occasion- 
ally an underclass girl rises into prominence 
for a brief space, she soon sinks back into 
oblivion as the sweet girl graduate hurries 
here and there on her round of gaiety. 

May was almost gone, when on a balmy 


230 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


Saturday afternoon all Ashton was gathered 
on the campus for the seniors’ May Day. 
The velvety green grass, the budding trees 
and shrubbery, and the warm sunshine would 
have been enough to entice any one out of 
doors, but added to these was the promise of 
a Maypole dance, the crowning of a May 
Queen, hoop-rolling and folk dances, which 
thronged the grounds with' undergraduates 
and alumnae. Just beyond the gymnasium, 
where the campus drops into a hollow, like" 
an old Roman amphitheater, was erected the 
Maypole, a real picture-card Maypole with a 
gilt ball on top and long streamers of blue and 
white, the class colors. It seemed as though 
every inch of room on the slopes of this mina- 
ture amphitheater was filled with girls in white 
gowns and vari-colored ‘‘ blazers ” and coats, 
awaiting the arrival of the seniors. And 
when, in cap and gown, they first came into 
sight, winding up and down the slopes of the 
campus, two by two, carrying baskets of 
flowers and bearing on their shoulders long 
twisted streamers of blue and white, there 


MAY DAYS 


231 


arose a mighty cry of, The seniors ! The 
seniors I Here come the seniors ! ’’ And then 
everybody broke into ‘‘ Alma Mater ” and 
sang verse after verse until all the seniors 
had reached the Maypole. 

Then the class president announced that the 
class had chosen Edith Anderson, president of 
the freshman class, as it’s May Queen; and 
walking over to where Edith was sitting, she 
took her by the arm, and led her to the throne 
of honor which had been erected just beyond 
the Maypole. Here she was crowned with 
a beautiful wreath of arbutus and invested 
with the robe of state, a long white dress 
decorated with asparagus fern, and then she 
was commanded to make a speech. Blushing, 
stammering, hesitating, she finally managed 
to express her surprise and appreciation of the 
honor conferred upon her by the senior class 
and ended abruptly by asking that the reg- 
ular programme be continued. At this came 
shouts from all the classes and songs of greet- 
ing to the queen, who was next invited to 
dig the first shovelful of earth that the class- 


232 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


tree, a gorgeous rhododendron, might be 
planted to perpetuate the glory of the seniors- 
to-be. 

After this serious ceremony was over, the 
seniors left their friends, the sophomores, to 
entertain their guests with some folk dances, 
while they repaired to the gymnasium for a 
change of costume. Almost quicker than it 
takes to tell it, instead of the dignified black 
robed seniors, a hundred or so boys and girls 
of every nationality in the world trooped 
down to the Maypole. Sixteen of them 
stepped forward, and clasping a streamer, be- 
gan the Maypole dance. In relays the whole 
class wound and unwound the streamers, and 
then leaving that behind, they invited every 
one to join them in playing ‘‘ Tag,’^ ‘‘ Lon- 
don Bridge Is Falling Down,’’ ‘‘ Hide and 
Seek ” and “ Drop the Handkerchief.” Sud- 
denly, as though by magic, hurdy-gurdies ap- 
peared, and even the haughty juniors could 
not resist the call, but rollicked and frolicked 
like ten-year-olds with the rest of the girls 
until the chapel bell rang out the hour of 
five. 


MAY DAYS 


233 


Then the seniors ran to the gymnasium, as 
though obeying some fairy godmother’s com- 
mand to return at five or lose forever the joys 
of youth, and in a trice came out on the 
campus again, each one rolling an enormous 
hoop. Being little experienced in the gentle 
art of hoop-rolling, most of them had some 
difficulty at first in manipulating these slippery 
toys, which went helter and skelter to right 
and to left, as the owners followed in mad 
pursuit down over the campus. But it was 
fun, such fun! and the more they did it the 
better they liked it, so they rolled and rolled 
until sheer exhaustion compelled the leaders 
to sit down and rest. 

Jean was lying in the cool green grass 
under a brilliant red beech with a dozen or 
more of the seniors, when Anne came hurry- 
ing up, and whispered in her ear, “Jean, do 
you know what time it is? We’ll never make 
that six-nineteen train in the world. Are you 
packed? And where are Bess and Lois and 
the rest of the girls? I hope your suit-case 
isn’t full, for I want to put my things with 
yours. You see I loaned mine to Priscilla 


234 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


Benton last week, and she hasn’t returned it 
yet, and I haven’t time to hunt her up now. 
Do please come down to the house with me.” 

‘‘ In just a minute, Anne, but I must get my 
breath first. I never was so tired in all my 
life. Why, I’m sure I’ve lost a good five 
pounds racing round this campus all the after- 
noon; and I’ve laughed at the girls until it 
seems as if there would never be another bit 
of laugh left in me. Aren’t these costumes 
screamingly funny? Why! every time I look 
at myself I wonder how I ever got into this 
one. It doesn’t seem as if I ever could be 
grown up again. But you’re right; we must 
hurry, for I haven’t packed anything either, 
and it will take me some minutes to get out of 
this suit, for I’m pinned together in a thou- 
sand places. There’s Bess and Lois coming 
towards us now, and probably we’ll find Rosa- 
lie and Polly at the house, for the last time I 
saw Polly she said she was going down 
early.” 

‘'All right, Jean; let me help you up. 
There, you’ve ripped a seam after all my care. 
Good-bye, girlies ; see you Wednesday, if noth- 


MAY DAYS 


235 


ing happens in the meantime, but if for any 
reason I don’t come back, some one please take 
my diploma at Commencement, and have it 
framed, and hung in the college library, or the 
chapel will do, if anybody thinks I’m not lit- 
erary enough for the library. Have a good 
time over the holiday and don’t any of you do 
any studying, for there’s enough of that 
ahead of us in the next two weeks ! ” 

“There, that will do, Anne,” said Jean; 
“ you were hurrying me not very long ago, and 
now you seem perfectly willing to scatter 
your good advice indefinitely. We simply 
must hurry. 

When the girls reached the house, they 
found the others running around excitedly 
calling for this or that which seemed to be 
among the missing. Polly, in hat and coat, 
with her suit-case packed and her watch in 
her hand, stood in the doorway calling out the 
hour. She fairly pushed Jean and Anne up 
the stairs, as she announced in stentorian 
tones : 

“ Girls, the train leaves in just twenty min- 
utes, and there isn’t another to-night which 


236 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


makes connection for Black River, so you must 
hurry, or we’ll have to wait until the morning 
train, and I’d rather not go at all than do that. 
Please hurry. O dear, I think I must start 
along and buy the tickets and perhaps I can 
hold the train for a few minutes if you aren’t 
there in time. I’m so excited I just can’t stand 
here and wait for you.” 

“ Now don’t get so nervous, Polly, dear,” 
said Jean; ‘‘ we’ll make it all right. That’s a 
good idea of yours about starting ahead and 
buying the tickets. You’d better do it, and 
we’ll surely be there before the train pulls out. 
There, start along, that’s a dear.” 

The cause of all this excitement was an in- 
vitation from Anne Cockran’s mother to six 
of the Gamma Chi girls, for a week-end party 
over Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, which in- 
cluded Memorial Day, at her summer home at 
Black River, a quiet little town on the South 
Shore. The same six had already arranged 
to spend the summer months together in an 
old-fashioned farmhouse in Maine which Ros- 
alie Warner’s aunt had offered them, while 
she was in Europe. 


MAY DAYS 


237 


Mrs. Cockran was to meet them in Boston 
on this Saturday afternoon, and chaperone 
them for the rest of the time. She was a little 
late in reaching the station, but when she hur- 
ried up to the information office, where she 
had agreed to meet them, she found the six, 
Rosalie and Polly, Bess and Lois, Jean and 
Anne, — with their pile of suit-cases and so 
many coats and sweaters that Polly declared it 
looked as though they were going to Europe 
for the summer instead of to the beach for 
three days. On the way over to the South 
Station and on the South Shore train, they all 
vied with each other to give Mrs. Cockran the 
best account of the afternoon's fun and their 
mad rush for the six-nineteen train, and after 
they had finished and paused for breath she be- 
gan to tell them about Black River and the 
cottage they were to stay in. 

But before she had got very far in her story, 
the conductor called out their station, and they 
gathered up their luggage and departed. Mrs. 
Cockran had written for a beach wagon to 
meet them, for it was some distance to her 
cottage, and as early as this in the season the 


238 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


creaking old stage-coach and the more modern 
automobile had not begun their regular trips. 
It was rather a tight squeeze for the driver 
and his seven passengers and their belongings, 
but the girls didn't mind it a bit, and if the 
bashful driver did, he was tactful enough not 
to mention it. They drove fully ten miles 
over the marshes in the fading twilight; but 
their hearts were light, although their bodies 
were tired, and they laughed and talked, and 
every now and then burst into little snatches 
of song, for the music of the afternoon still 
lingered in their thoughts. 

“We’re almost there,” said Anne; “just 
down this road. Our house is the only one on 
the beach, or rather the river. There are some 
big houses back of us and one or two fisher- 
men’s huts below, but we feel as though we 
owned the River Road. Are all your backs 
broken, girls ? ” 

“No,” answered Polly; “mine isn’t, and I 
love this country, as much of it as I have seen, 
anyway. I wouldn’t mind riding for another 
hour or two. Isn’t this salt air delicious ? It 
makes me think of lobsters and fish and clam- 


MAY DAYS 


239 


bakes, and all those things one hears about, 
but never has.” 

'' We’ll ride all the afternoon to-morrow, if 
you like, Polly,” said Mrs. Cockran. “ Our 
favorite drive is to the Light House, but it’s 
fifteen miles each way. Do you think you 
could stand that?” 

Stand it ! Why, there’s nothing I’d like 
better; my only regret is that we can’t start 
this very minute.” 

‘‘ Oh, Polly ! Polly ! ” cried Bess, ‘‘ when 
are you ever going to grow up and acquire 
some dignity and patience? ” 

Never, Bessie dear; I just couldn’t.” 

Here we are, girls, all out,” said Anne, as 
the horses stopped before a large brown bunga- 
low; and as the girls alighted she added, “If 
you don’t like the looks of our humble abode, 
you can stay in the wagon, and Tom will take 
you right back to the station. Isn’t very 
thickly populated round here, is it? Just one 
light in sight, and that’s in old Sned’s hut. 
Sned is our favorite fisherman, — fine old fel- 
low when he’s sober, but he will drink, and 
when he’s drunk he’s so ugly he’s simply un- 


240 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


bearable, but he generally knows enough to 
keep out of the way. Perhaps he’ll take us 
sailing, or if his nephew Jerry is here we can 
hire him to take us out. Poor Jerry has a 
hard time of it v^th him, but welcome, girls; 
make yourselves perfectly at home,’’ and Anne 
unlocked the door and the girls followed her 
into the big living room. 

It did not take long to start a roaring fire in 
the huge stone fireplace and get the supper 
ready. Then the girls drew the table up in 
front of the fire and set thereon the good 
things which Mrs. Cockran had brought with 
her. It looked as though there was enough 
to feed a small army instead of six girls, but 
an afternoon on a college campus, a train ride, 
and a ten-mile drive in the open air over salt 
marshes, will do wonders in the way of getting 
up an appetite. So most of the food disap- 
peared in an amazingly short time, and noth- 
ing more was said that night about being hun- 
gry. After the dishes were done, Polly sug- 
gested a walk on the beach, but a thick mist 
began to roll in from the ocean, and a few 
moments on the piazza gave themi all the air 


MAY DAYS 


241 


they wanted that night. They went back to 
the warm fire again to read aloud, but the 
heat made them so sleepy they soon gave it up, 
and by a unanimous vote decided to go to bed 
and get up early next morning for a walk. 

But it is one thing to go to bed and quite 
another to go to sleep when six girls are on a 
lark and feel that nobody cares. Just as the 
house was about to settle into quiet, some one 
would start, Oh, here's to Gamma Chi," or 
Dear Alma Mater," in which the others 
would find themselves joining in spite of their 
professed sleepiness. Somewhere in the wee 
small hours even these outbursts ceased, and 
every one slept, that is, every one but Jean. 
But she lay perfectly wide awake, and turned 
first to one side and then the other in a vain at- 
tempt to sleep. She could not have said what 
made her so restless; perhaps it was her un- 
finished thesis which was due the following 
Wednesday; perhaps it was the strange, new 
sound of the water as it beat on the rocky 
shore; perhaps it was a secret longing down in 
the depths of her heart; but whatever it may 
have been, she lay there staring at the darkness 


242 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


and wondered. And then, all at once, she 
heard a sound which startled her, because she 
did not know what it could be. Again she 
heard it, and again, and then it came over her 
like a flash that some one was on the piazza, 
and was rattling the doorknob. She crept 
softly out of bed and slipping on her kimono, 
went into the living-room to see whether it 
was her imagination or if some one were 
really there. 

The mists had cleared away, and the pale 
moon cast just light enough for her to feel 
her way along to the window nearest the front 
door. Then she heard a low mumbling, and 
she managed to make out the words : 

‘‘ Let me in, Jerry. It’s Sned. Let me in, 
I say, or I’ll smash down the door.” 

There was no doubt in her mind now, it v/as 
Sned, the old fisherman that Mrs. Cockran 
had told them about. He was probably re- 
turning home from a drunken spree in town, 
and had mistaken this house for his own. But 
what should she do? The others were so 
tired after their hard day that evidently they 
were sleeping too heavily to hear the noise. 


MAY DAYS 


243 


and were entirely unconscious of the danger 
which seemed to be threatening their night’s 
repose. Undoubtedly if Sued should attempt 
to smash the door they would be awakened and 
terrified by the noise. She wondered if by any 
chance a window had been left open, or the 
back door unlocked, by which he might effect 
an entrance if he were determined to do so. 
She had heard how persistent and ugly intoxi- 
cated men could be when obstacles balked 
their desires, and she began to get very fright- 
ened, and was on the point of calling the 
others. But just then the angry man made a 
desperate attempt to open the door and in do- 
ing so lost his balance and fell heavily down 
on the piazza, cursing loudly. 

She listened for sounds of awakening from 
some of the girls, but none came, and she sank 
down on the window-seat to watch what would 
happen next. The old man made no attempt 
to rise, and lay perfectly still, mumbling in- 
audibly to himself. Apparently it was too 
much of an effort to get up, so he stretched out 
to make himself as comfortable as possible. 
Jean was relieved, for she felt if he once got 


244 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


to sleep, he would not stir until morning, when 
he would find out his mistake and probably 
hurry away ashamed before any of the house- 
hold were awake. But she was still uneasy, 
and could not go back to bed until she felt 
sure he was asleep. So she sat still for a long 
time and watched him, and the longer she 
watched the less fear and the more pity she 
felt. What a miserable existence his was, and 
what a wretched way for any one to spend the 
night! Was there anything she could do to 
help the old man? It must be cold out there, 
and perhaps his clothes were thin ; at least she 
could cover him over with a steamer rug or 
something else that was warm. She crept 
over to the couch, pulled off a thick rug that 
Anne had put there the night before, and un- 
locking the door as quietly as she could, she 
stepped out into the night, and gently wrapped 
the rug around the old man so as not to 
awaken him. Then she looked about her. 
Down in the fisherman’s hut she could see a 
dim light burning, and she wondered if the 
boy Jerry was still watching for his uncle’s 
return, or if there had been so many of these 


MAY DAYS 


245 


long nights of watching that he had dropped 
asleep in the hope that all was well. What 
was there in life for him that made for happi- 
ness? 

So she stood for a long time until the chill 
air struck through her thin clothes, making 
her shiver, and turning back into the house, 
she softly closed the door again. With one 
last look at the sleeping man, she hurried back 
to her own room, and just as she was about 
to get into bed, Anne awoke, to her surprise, 
and called out sleepily : 

'' Why, Jean, what on earth are you doing 
up at this hour of the night ? ” 

“ Why, Anne, I couldn’t seem to get to sleep, 
so I got up for a drink of water. It’s too bad 
I woke you up. Go right to sleep again, you 
naughty girl.” 

But if Anne heard the last words she said 
nothing, and seemed to be breathing peace- 
fully again. Just as the first gray streaks of 
dawn appeared on the horizon, Jean dropped 
off to sleep, to dream perhaps of Maypole 
dances and hoop-rolling, drunken fishermen 
and midnight robberies. 


246 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


The next thing she knew was Mrs. Coch- 
ran’s cheery voice, saying, Come girlies, it’s 
almost eleven o’clock ; breakfast is ready. 
Are you going to sleep all day? I thought I 
wouldn’t call you before, for it’s pouring 
harder than I’ve seen it all the spring. Per- 
haps it’s trying to make up in a day for all 
the dry weather we’ve been having. It looks 
as though we wouldn’t get our ride to the 
Light House to-day, but content ourselves with 
staying indoors. Now hurry, please, or every- 
thing will be cold.” 

Jean wondered for a moment why every- 
thing seemed so strange to her, and why she 
was so glad to hear a familiar voice, and then 
she remembered her experience of the night, 
and tried to decide whether she had dreamed 
it all, or whether she really had seen old Sned 
lying drunk on the piazza. If it was real, 
Mrs. Cockran’s steamer rug must be out there, 
and she was instantly seized with the desire to 
go to the window and see. After a moment, 
however, she decided that would be foolish, 
for Mrs. Cockran would wonder what was 
taking her out on the piazza in the rain before 


MAY DAYS 


247 


she was dressed; and perhaps it was only a 
dream after all, so she made up her mind to 
say nothing about it just yet, but let things 
take their own course. But when she was 
dressed, and had gone out into the living-room 
she glanced at the couch, and saw the steamer 
rug in its accustomed place. 

At the breakfast table as they were finishing 
their cereal, Mrs. Cockran exclaimed, ‘‘ Oh, 
by the way, girls, which of you left my steamer 
rug out on the piazza last night ? ” 

“Why, what do you mean. Mother? I'm 
sure none of us did," Anne burst out. “ Polly 
and I had it wrapped round us when we came 
in from the piazza, and I remember folding it 
up and putting it on the couch. I locked up 
the house then and I'm sure none of us went 
out after that." 

“ Well, it's strange," replied Mrs. Cockran, 
“ but when I opened the door this morning to 
look at the weather, I found the rug folded up 
close to the door. How do you suppose it got 
there ? " 

Nobody said anything for a moment and 
then Jean quietly answered, “Well, girls, I 


248 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


guess I know more about it than anybody else. 
Perhaps Pd better confess/’ 

When she had finished her story amid 
‘‘Ohs” and “ Ahs ” and “How did you 
dares,” Anne looked at her and said with a 
knowing smile : 

“ That accounts for the little white lie you 
told me last night about getting up for some 
water. I just remember it now.” 

“ But I really did get some water, Anne, so 
it wasn’t a lie after all.” 

And conversation during the rest of the 
meal centered upon Sned and his evil propensi- 
ties. 

About the middle of the afternoon the rain 
slackened considerably and someone proposed 
a walk. A thorough search of the closets, the 
cellar, and the shed brought forth enough oil- 
skins, raincoats and sou’westers partially to 
protect the six and they sallied forth, single 
file, for a tramp in the rain. When they had 
gone about three miles and reached the Point 
where the surf was pounding up against the 
rocks, it began to pour down again, and the 
girls were soon very wet. But they decided 


MAY DAYS 


249 


that as long as they couldn’t get much wetter, 
they would climb down over the rocks and 
watch the surf. The slippery seaweed and the 
barnacles made this a rather difficult process, 
but finally they managed to reach the desired 
vantage point, and sat down, sole monarchs of 
all they surveyed. In a few moments, how- 
ever, they lost their enthusiasm in the Wet- 
ness, wetness everywhere,” as they parodied 
Coleridge, and were willing to follow out 
Anne’s suggestion that they hurry home for a 
change of raiment. 

They found it more difficult to climb up the 
rocks than it had been to climb down, and 
there was much slipping and sliding, pushing 
and pulling before they made much headway. 
As luck would have it, Polly, who was the last 
one to leave, discovered halfway up that she 
had forgotten her sweater, and as it was a bor- 
rowed one, she felt obliged to go back and get 
it. Just as she was about to pick it up, she 
slipped, and with a terrified little scream fell 
into a pool of the foaming water. Back came 
the frightened girls, but by the time they 
reached Polly she had scrambled out of the 


250 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


water, and was shaking herself like a wet 
spaniel. 

I’m all right girls ! Don’t look so fright- 
ened, all of you. I thought I was wet enough 
five minutes ago, but it was nothing to my 
present condition. How do I look? I feel 
all right. Fortunately the water wasn’t very 
deep, and I landed on my feet instead of head 
first. Some one give me a hand, and I’ll be 
upon terra firma again as quickly as the rest 
of you. That old sweater, it’s more trouble 
than it’s worth. I’ve a good mind to throw it 
in the water now, even if it does belong to 
some member of the famous Cockran family.” 

“ Not on your life, Polly,” said Anne. 
‘‘ That’s Dad’s favorite, and he’d never for- 
give me for lending it to you. Come, let me 
help you up; give Rosalie your other hand.” 

And this time the girls succeeded in reach- 
ing the top without accident. But now Polly 
began to realize how nearly she had come to 
a real calamity, and she began to tremble like 
a leaf. Before she had time to think more of 
herself, Anne suggested a cross-country run, 
and they were soon strung out along the beach 


MAY DAYS 


251 


like a lot of runners in a veritable Marathon. 
By the time they reached the house Polly had 
almost forgotten about her narrow escape, and 
had as much color in her cheeks as the other 
girls ; and Anne suggested that they say noth- 
ing about the accident to her mother, for if 
she knew about it, she would be sure to worry 
in the future whenever any one started for the 
Rocks. 

Next day they rode to the Light House, took 
their lunch and had an all-day picnic. When 
they were returning home, they met Jerry 
down on the town road, and stopped him to 
make arrangements for a sail next morning. 
To their questions Jerry at first mumbled 
something about his uncle’s not being well, but 
finally said he would be glad to take them out, 
if his uncle was willing to trust the boat to 
him. Mrs. Cockran knew that Jerry was as 
able to manage the boat as Sned himself, and 
was much more reliable, so she told the girls 
they might set any time agreeable to themselves 
for the sail. She herself would stay at home, 
for sailing always made her ill, and she did 
want to be able to start back to Boston in good 


252 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


condition. So Anne decided that ten o’clock 
would be the best time to start provided, of 
course, there was enough wind, and they 
would take along plenty of lunch in case they 
didn’t get back until two or three o’clock. 
Jerry agreed to have everything in readiness 
at Sned’s little wharf by the appointed time, 
and, perhaps a bit weary at heart, he trudged 
home alone behind the crowded beach wagon 
of happy girls. 

Tuesday morning was perfect for sailing, 
with a warm sun and a spanking breeze, and 
just before ten the girls hurried down to the 
wharf, for they had seen Jerry on the boat for 
, some time, and they were anxious to be off 
if everything was in readiness. Jerry wel- 
comed them in his usual quiet manner, and 
helped them politely on board the Spider, but 
he seemed a little more ill at ease than usual, 
and now and then looked back at the fisher- 
man’s cottage as though he were troubled 
about something. Just as the little sail caught 
the wind, and they left the wharf behind them, 
they heard loud cries, and turning, saw old 
Sned running down to the water’s edge. 


MAY DAYS 


253 


‘‘ Come back here, you young thief ! Come 
back here with that boat. Come back, I say, 
or ril break every bone in your body,’^ and the 
tottering old man threw up his arms as though 
in despair, and cursed loudly as his boat left 
him farther and farther behind. Jerry, his 
face as white as the sail of his boat, looked 
straight ahead for a moment and said noth- 
ing. Then, after he seemed to have gained 
courage from his friend, the sea, he burst 
out : 

‘‘ Don’t mind him ; it’s my uncle. He’s not 
sick, as I said yesterday; he’s been drinking 
hard again, until he doesn’t know what he’s 
doing. I’m ashamed to have you see him like 
that, and I hoped we might get away before he 
woke up. I knew if he saw his boat going 
away without him, it would set him off on one 
of his tantrums. Not but what he’s willing I 
should use his boat. Why, he’s the most gen- 
erous person in the world when he’s himself, 
and always tells me the boat’s mine as much as 
it is his, but there’s no accounting for his 
moods when he’s like that. Don’t pay any at- 
tention to him; he’ll go back to the hut and 


254 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


sleep it off, and we’ll be out of sight in a 
moment.” 

And the little boat swung out of the river 
into the harbor, and merrily rode the ocean 
waves. There was plenty of motion outside 
and the girls thought it was glorious, but after 
a little while Rosalie and Polly, who at first 
had been the gayest of the party, began to 
grow very quiet and soon begged Jerry to take 
them where it was smoother. Jerry laugh- 
ingly declared this was smooth, and added 
that they must take things as they came, for 
one could never tell when a calm would strike 
them. 

And then, as though to prove his very 
words, the wind died down and a flat calm 
struck them, and they bobbed up and down in 
the hot sunshine until Polly declared that she 
could stand it no longer, that it was worse 
than it had been when it was so rough. Jerry 
told her she might go down in the cabin, if she 
liked, and added to the others that they were 
welcome, too, but unfortunately the cabin only 
held two at a time comfortably, so they 
couldn’t all go at once. Jean went down with 


MAY DAYS 


255 


Polly, and left the others listening to Jerry’s 
accounts of some recent fishing experiences. 

He was just in the midst of a most thrilling 
story, when Jean came out of the little cabin 
carrying in her hands a beautiful old violin. 
‘‘Why, Jerry, where did you get this violin? 
Do you play, or is it your uncle’s? Tell me 
all about it, please, even if I am interrupting 
one of your favorite fish stories. I’m crazy 
over violin music. Do play if you can.” 

“ All right. Miss, I’ll try. Yes, it’s mine, 
but I can’t do much with it. I only know a 
few things I’ve picked out myself.” And then 
Jerry gave the wheel to Anne and, placing the 
violin under his chin in the most caressing 
manner, began to play softly. And as he 
played on and on, apparently oblivious of his 
audience and his surroundings, the girls looked 
at each other in sheer amazement, and won- 
dered how this boy, way down in a fisherman’s 
hut on Black River, ever could have learned 
to play sudh melodies. They said nothing, 
however, until he paused; then Jean cried out: 

“Oh, don’t stop, Jerry; please go on, it’s 
wonderful.” 


256 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


“ I don’t know anything more, Miss. I 
wish I did. You see I’ve only had a few les- 
sons. Last summer there was a man from 
Boston up at Newman’s, and he heard me 
playing one day, and offered to give me a 
few lessons, but he went away, and promised 
to come again this summer. If he does, I 
hope to take some more lessons, but that de- 
pends upon the money I can earn before then.” 

But the violin, Jerry; where did it come 
from? It has the sweetest tone I ever heard. 
It must have a story. I’m sure, and I know the 
girls would rather hear that than any fish 
story. Please tell us.” 

“ There isn’t much to tell, Miss, my uncle 
knows more about it than I do. But it has 
something to do with my father, and I could 
never quite make out the story. My mother 
was Sned’s sister, and she married a man who 
didn’t do much, I guess, but play the violin. 
He lived in Germany when he was a young 
man, and ran away from home. He was poor, 
and the only thing of any value that he brought 
with him was this violin, which he said was 
worth its weight in gold, and had belonged to 


MAY DAYS 


257 


his great-grandfather, who played it better 
than any one else in the country. When 
Father died, all he left to Mother was me and 
the violin, and the next year when Mother 
died, she left us both to Uncle Sned, who was 
her only relative. IVe been with him fifteen 
years now, and Fve tried to be happy with 
him, but it’s hard work sometimes, and about 
the only comfort I get is to come out on the 
boat and play to myself. Why, the violin and 
I are the best friends in the world, and we 
wouldn’t be parted for anything you could 
offer us. I’m afraid to keep it in the house 
for fear sometime he will sell it for whisky, 
for he’s sold about everything else we ever had 
but this, so I hide it out here where he can’t 
find it. Strange to say, though, he loves to 
have me play, and when we’re sailing to- 
gether he always wants me to play to him. 
He’ll sit by the hour where you’re sitting. Miss 
Anne, and listen to me without saying a word. 
Why, you’d never know it was the same man 
that we left on the beach this morning so 
angry at us.” 

Oh, Jerry,” exclaimed Jean, ^‘you must 


258 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


study the violin, for you play beautifully, and 
you will be famous some day, if you will only 
work hard. Don’t ever stop practising, will 
you? I’ll send you some books and music as 
soon as I get back to Boston to-morrow, and 
perhaps your friend will come this summer to 
help you, but if he doesn’t, you must find 
some one else. This has been a splendid day, 
and I have enjoyed every minute of it. I wish 
you would come over to our house to-night 
and play with me. I play the piano, but I 
have always wished it had been the violin, for 
I love that music better than anything else. 
That last little piece you played, what was it 
called? All I could think of was a dancing 
wave. I’d like to buy it.” 

There isn’t any name to it ; I made it up 
one day when I was out alone in the boat.” 

“Made it up, Jerry! Do you make up 
many such pieces ? ” 

“ Almost everything I play is what I have 
made up myself. I don’t like the exercises in 
the book; they’re too monotonous. I like to 
try to put into my violin the things I think 
most about; the waves, the sunlight, a moon- 


MAY DAYS 


259 


light night, a gull flying, the colors you see in 
a sunrise or sunset, a foggy morning, my lone- 
liness for my mother, — all those things, you 
know, that you wonder about. But IVe talked 
too much about myself, let’s change the sub- 
ject. The wind’s coming up, and perhaps 
we’d better make for home. It’s a long way 
and it will be nearly six by the time we reach 
the river. I’m sorry that calm delayed us.” 

‘‘ Well, I’m not,” said Polly, “ if there 
hadn’t been a calm we never should have 
known anything about your violin, or how well 
you play, or anything about yourself. But I’m 
hungry ; let’s eat that lunch you brought along 
for an emergency, Anne, and then we’ll have 
more courage for the trip back. I, for one, 
hope we won’t strike any more stiff breezes, 
for I can’t say I enjoy sailing at an angle of 
one hundred and sixty degrees. A dead calm 
is better than that.” 

Every one seemed quite ready to eat, and by 
the time the food was all gone, they had made 
considerable headway toward home. Quiet 
seemed to have fallen upon them all, but per- 
haps they were thinking about the strange fate 


26 o jean CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


that had placed such unmistakable talent in the 
heart of this poor fisher-boy. When they 
reached the wharf they found Mrs. Cockran 
pacing anxiously up and down awaiting their 
arrival. It had been a long day for her, and 
as hour after hour had passed without their 
return, she had begun to get very anxious. 
When they were in the house, they told her all 
about the day’s experiences, and how Jerry had 
promised to come over in the evening to play 
with Jean. 

It got to be very late before he put in an 
appearance, but they felt sure he would come 
as he had promised, and supposed he was prob- 
ably being detained by his uncle. At last he 
arrived with his violin under his arm and a 
very tired expression on his careworn young 
face. But he played for over an hour with 
Jean’s soft accompaniments to his own com- 
positions, and the listeners sat spell-bound, as 
they had in the afternoon. When Mrs. Cock- 
ran finally felt obliged to tell the girls that 
they must go to bed or they would be in no 
condition for their early start in the morning, 
the music had to stop, and Jerry bade them 


MAY DAYS 


261 


good-night, but not without a promise to Jean 
to keep up his practising in the exercise books 
she would send him, and to answer some let- 
ters he would receive from her after she had 
talked with Professor Leighton in Boston. 

After the house had been locked up, and the 
good-nights were being said, Jean put her 
arms around Anne and Lois, and said softly: 

‘‘ Well, girls, I didn’t suppose so much could 
happen in three days. What do you suppose 
the next three weeks have in store for us? I 
can hardly wait. Can you? ” 


CHAPTER XIII 


THE BEGINNING OF THE END 

‘ ‘ 'T O, Polly, I simply haven’t the time. 

Pd love to go with you,” said Jean 
one morning soon after their re- 
turn from Black River, ‘‘but I must get in 
another afternoon of tennis practice. You see, 
the tournament begins day after to-morrow, 
and Pm really in no condition to play this year, 
but I do want that championship pretty badly. 
You see, it’s my last chance at it, and luck’s 
been against me the last three years. Haven’t 
you got a rabbit’s foot or a lucky penny or 
something that will remove the curse? Pd 
almost be tempted to come back another year 
for post-graduate, if I thought I could win it 
then. It’s awfully discouraging to be second 
best man, for every time I’ve kept in till the 
finish. I wonder what I can do to make the 
immortal gods smile on me just once.” 

“ There’s no question about your getting it 
262 


THE BEGINNING OF THE END 263 


this year, Jean. No one else can hold a candle 
to you. And there’s always been a good rea- 
son why you didn’t win out before. First 
year you had Nathalie Lawton against you, 
and she’d been college champion two years; 
then next year you were just recovering from 
the measles ; and last year you’d sprained your 
wrist just a little while before the tournament. 
Under the circumstances, I think, you did 
mighty well to stay in Till the finals. No one 
else but you would have done it. But now 
you’re in the pink of condition, and not one 
dangerous rival in the field. I’d be willing to 
stake anything I’ve got on you.” 

“ You’re certainly very positive of my abil- 
ity, Polly, and I hope I’ll come up to your 
expectations. But something seems to tell me 
it will be the same old story this year. I 
haven’t any idea that I’ll win.” 

But in spite of Jean’s lack of confidence in 
herself she did win the tennis tournament, and 
won gloriously. Not for one moment during 
the preliminaries or the finals did any one 
doubt what the outcome would be, for from 
the beginning she played calmly and with a 


264 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


stroke which was undoubtedly that of the 
winner, and she easily took the victory from 
Kate Goodrich, her opponent in the finals. 

Every one in college re jo-iced at Jean’s suc- 
cess, because they knew how hard she had 
tried all four years, and how patient she had 
been in her hoiu*s of defeat. Cheer upon 
cheer arose at the end of the last set, and a 
long procession escorted her from the courts 
to the steps of Gamma Chi House, where they 
called insistently for a speech from the cham- 
pion of the day. With a few simple words 
of appreciation she begged off, saying that 
there was so little time left before dinner that 
they would need it all to dress for the Student 
Government elections that evening. A little 
reluctantly, it must be confessed, tihe girls dis- 
persed after a round of lusty cheers, and Jean 
and the house girls hurried to their rooms for 
the few moments before the call for dinner. 

At a quarter before eight the chapel bell be- 
gan to peal out solemnly in the still evening 
air. It was the signal for the whole college 
to assemble in the chapel to hear the announce- 
ment of the elections to Student Government, 


THE BEGINNING OF THE END 265 


the most coveted honors of the whole college 
world. Soon every seat was filled, the faculty 
and the seniors in cap and gown, in the front 
rows, and the underclass girls behind them 
wherever they could find seats. Upon the 
platform were the officers of Student Govern- 
ment, the presidents of the classes, secret so- 
cieties and all college organizations, looking 
quite as dignified and inspiring as ever the 
faculty did, and against a much more festive 
setting, for flowers were banked in rank pro- 
fusion wherever there was room for them. 
Every girl carried an armful of flowers, too, 
wild or cultivated, as the various pocketbooks 
allowed, and if one had looked carefully she 
might have seen that every person in the 
chapel either carried or wore some flowers. 

Then as the clock struck eight, Delia Tucker- 
man, president of Student Government, arose, 
and coming to the edge of the platform, made 
a little speech of welcome, in which she briefly 
stated the purpose of the organization, its work 
during that year, and how each year the faculty 
and the retiring officers chose the new officers 
on the merits of general good scholarship and 


266 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


all-around service to the college. At its con- 
clusion she asked Miss Emerson to step for- 
ward and read the results of the election, and 
those whose names were read were invited to 
come upon the platform to be initiated into 
their new positions. 

It was so still one could have heard a pin 
drop as the girls waited breathlessly for the 
first name to be read. It was not long in com- 
ing, for Miss Emerson seemed to feel the sup- 
pressed excitement of those in front of her, 
and said quickly : 

“ President, Mary Elizabeth Thompson ; 
Vice-president, Grace Alton Vosburgh; sec- 
retary and treasurer, Alice Spencer Proctor.” 

Before she could begin her customary little 
speech of congratulation, however, there arose 
deafening shouts of “ Rah, rah, rah, Polly 
Thompson ! ” followed by just as vigorous 
ones for the other two girls. She was obliged 
to wait several minutes for the excitement to 
die down. Then, after speaking a few words, 
she took her seat again and the exercises con- 
tinued. 

The newly elected officers left their seats 


THE BEGINNING OF THE END 267 


and made their way to the platform in as dig- 
nified a manner as possible; but to have such 
an honor thrust upon one without a moment’s 
notice rather ‘‘ takes the starch ” out of any 
one, and it requires some moments to regain 
one’s usual composure. All those upon the 
platform arose as the three came up the nar- 
row steps at the right hand side of the organ. 
Delia Tuckerman stepped forward, and shook 
hands with them most cordially, and passed 
them on to the others. Then she carefully ex- 
plained the duties and responsibilities of each 
office, and declared them invested with full 
power to take the organization over into their 
hands. She took a large bunch of American 
Beauties which had .adorned the pulpit desk, 
and dividing it into three parts, gave one part 
to each of the new officers. Then at a signal 
the rest of the girls formed a double line 
across the platform, and Delia motioned for 
Polly and Grace and Alice to follow her out of 
the chapel. The audience now arose and 
faced the central aisle. As the four honor 
girls passed through the line on the platform, 
the girls placed in their arms their own 


268 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


bunches of flowers and threw garlands over 
their heads and shoulders, and as they passed 
down the main aisle, every girl in the audience 
threw her flowers on the floor or into the air 
until it seemed as though there were flowers 
everywhere. The mingled perfume of rose 
and lily and field flowers rose to the very ceil- 
ing, and cast its benediction over everything, 
as the concourse of girls followed the little 
group of officials, new and old, out of the 
chapel. 

Just outside the door Jean ran up to Rosalie 
Warner, crying, “ Rosie, dear, will you please 
ask the girls to wait in the living-room a few 
moments until I get home? There’s some- 
thing I want to say to them to-night ; it won’t 
take but a little while. Anne and I have got 
to stop at Miss Emerson’s a minute to see 
about the reception. Oh, isn’t it splendid 
about Polly! I can’t get over it, to think of 
a Gamma Chi girl having the highest honor 
in the whole college, and our little Polly, too! 
Well, more of that later, but I must find her 
and tell her how happy we are. Don’t forget 
to keep all the girls up, even if they do say 


THE BEGINNING OF THE END 269 

they were never so sleepy in their lives and 
want to go to bed. There’s Polly now, but 
she’s got so many round her it’s no use try- 
ing to say anything for the present. If you 
see her first, give her my bestest.” 

Although Jean and Anne remained at Miss 
Emerson’s much longer than they had ex- 
pected, when they finally reached Gamma Chi 
house they found every girl in the big living- 
room apparently so excited over Polly’s honor 
that sleep was the thing farthest from their 
minds. After the two girls offered their con- 
gratulations, Jean began: 

“ I won’t keep you up much longer, girls, 
but there’s one thing that just must be said 
to-night. As president of Gamma Chi, I want 
to tell you how much this election of Polly to 
the presidency of Student Government means 
to me and to the society. It means that the 
college and the faculty recognize that our so- 
ciety is worth something and that its members 
are working for the good of the college, and 
are living up to the high ideals that Miss 
Emerson constantly sets before us. You re- 
member that after our hoodang last October 


270 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


I called you girls in here as I have done to- 
night and told you how we were being criti- 
cized by certain girls of the college. I asked 
you to try to live down that reputation, which 
perhaps we deserved, during the year, and 
show our true worth to the world. Since then 
I have never spoken of the matter, but I have 
watched a splendid new feeling growing up 
among us. I want to thank you, one and all, 
for what you have done, and to tell you that I 
am the proudest girl in the world to be presi- 
dent of Gamma Chi to-night. It’s my last 
opportunity to call myself president, for our 
annual election comes to-morrow, but I want 
you to know that I feel our first year off the 
campus in the Gamma Chi House has been one 
grand success, and that we have accomplished 
a great deal.. The world at large will never 
know how many things, for most of them are 
those that one feels rather than those that one 
sees. Let’s give one cheer for Mary Elizabeth 
Thompson, president of Student Government, 
and for the junior class, and join hands and 
pledge ourselves to her support, for the best 


THE BEGINNING OF THE END 271 


in the college, the best in our class, and the 
best in Gamma Chi ! ” 

After this some one suggested that a cheer 
be given Jean, for every girl knew down deep 
in her heart that if Gamma Chi was strong 
and worth while, it was because of this strong, 
unselfish girl who had given so much of her- 
self during the year to make the society what 
it was. Polly and the rest of the underclass 
girls grew a bit troubled at heart and choked 
down a sob wthen they thought of what the 
years to come would be without her. So the 
cheering began again, and it was very late be- 
fore the lights were out and the last girl had 
gone to bed. It was a rather dubious begin- 
ning, for on the next day began the final exam- 
inations, which Anne called ‘‘ The Reign of 
Terror.” 

They were the days when life out-of-doors 
was at its best, and to have been perfectly 
happy one should have lain all day on the 
green grass beneath some shady tree, listen- 
ing to the song of a bird, or gazing dreamily at 
the blue sky. But instead, girls were spend- 


272 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


ing every available hour from early morning 
until late at night cramming into their poor 
tired heads all that they should have been 
learning for months past. No matter how 
perfect the day or hot the night, there were 
always notebooks and text books and reference 
books to be thoroughly gone through and di- 
gested in an impossibly short time in order to 
go on to another subject. 

Girls sat with ice-cold bandages round their 
aching heads, or drank strong coffee to ward 
off much needed sleep; some persuaded ac- 
commodating room-mates or friends to run 
down to the store and buy them cooling ices; 
others begged help with a Latin translation, or 
the copying of history outlines into notebooks, 
or the hearing of French verbs or English 
quotations. Every one wanted something — 
but most of all, they wanted the examinations 
to be over. Poor, discouraged little freshmen 
who wailed that they knew they never would 
pass in their mathematics, came to ask the 
upper class girls what they thought would hap- 
pen if they flunked out, and was it an awful 
disgrace to come back and begin all over 


THE BEGINNING OF THE END 273 


again? Tired seniors were so anxious these 
last days for fear something at the last moment 
would snatch from them the much coveted 
diploma. And every one had a worried ex- 
pression on her face which seemed to say, 
Will they ever be over? ” 

But sad times, like glad times, must come to 
an end, and it was not long before the last 
girl had passed in her last little blue examina- 
tion book ‘‘ for better or worse.’’ Then for 
two days before Class Day, Student Govern- 
ment rules were ‘‘ off,” and the girls could do 
exactly as they pleased, without asking per- 
mission of any one but their conscience, for of 
course, even under these conditions, girls were 
supposed to have moderation in everything, 
and to be guided by their sense of honor. 

On the Thursday night preceding Class Day, 
just as the clock was striking midnight, Jean 
and Anne and the other Gamma Chi seniors 
in their black caps and gowns left the society 
house. Although it was very dark, if one had 
looked closely she might have seen that each 
girl carried in one hand a long white candle, 
and in the other a text or note book. Quickly 


274 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


they made their way to College Hall, where 
they found most of the seniors already as- 
sembled. Soon all the candles were lighted, 
and a long line of seniors began a funereal 
march to the chant of a low dirge, down to the 
very edge of the campus, back of the Pond. 
Suddenly they stopped by the command of the 
class marshal, Blanche Whitney, before some- 
thing which more closely resembled an ancient 
funeral pyre than anything else. Then a 
circle, several girls deep, was formed, and each 
girl held her lighted candle high. A match 
was struck and applied to the pyre, and a livid 
flame shot up into the air. 

Then came a shout of “ Our dead and buried 
past at Ashton; away with hated books for- 
ever! Sacrifices, sacrifices from every one to 
light the spirit of our departing greatness.” 
And each girl threw the book she had been 
holding Upon the fire ; there was not time to see 
the titles of the books, but one could easily 
imagine them to have been worn-out ‘‘ math.” 
books or bethumbed histories and grammars, 
or closely written lecture notebooks, something 
evidently not worth keeping, but bearing the 


THE BEGINNING OF THE END 275 


traces of much use against the best wishes of 
the owners. As the books caught fire, the 
girls placed their candles on the ground and, 
j oining hands, began to dance as wildly as any 
band of Trojans ever danced round the burn- 
ing body of a dead hero. Shrieks and groans 
added to the wild orgy, but fortunately the 
mourners were so far away from the dormi- 
tories that none but a night watchman could 
have heard, and most of them were so familiar 
with Ashton traditions that they would have 
continued on their round with only a smile and 
a murmur, Those crazy girls ; up to some of 
their midnight pranks again.” 

The ceremonies must last as long as a book 
burned on the pyre, and only when they be- 
came a mass of embers did the girls seat them- 
selves on the ground to watch, as was a long 
established custom, for the first signs of dawn. 
They had just settled themselves comfortably, 
and begun a round Robin of ‘‘ The Book I 
Hated Most in College,” when great drops of 
rain began to fall upon their heads and faces 
and threatened a change of program. 

Wail upon wail arose : Oh, girls, to- 


276 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


morrow will be rainy! What shall we do? 
It’s the first time the old tradition has ever 
been broken. It’s always fair weather on 
Class Day. Oh, the play, the play! Every- 
thing will be spoiled ! ” 

But perhaps this is only a shower,” said 
the class optimist. ‘‘ Let’s sing, ‘ It’s Always 
Fair Weather on Class Day,’ and perhaps the 
weather man will change his mind.” 

‘‘ Well,” remarked Anne, “ you can stay here 
for the rest of the night, if you want to, but I 
make a motion that we go back home. It’s be- 
ginning to pour, and I’d much rather be in 
my own little bed waiting for the sunrise than 
up here in the rain. I got a sore throat the 
other night studying at the open window. It 
was the only place I could keep cool, and I 
don’t want any more, or I won’t be able to say 
a word to-morrow afternoon.” 

I guess you won’t need to, Anne,” said 
Blanche Whitney, ‘‘ if this kind of weather 
keeps up. Of course they’ll have to postpone 
it, for who ever heard of having an out-of- 
door play in the rain. Wouldn’t it be rich to 
have the actors and actre'sses and all the guests 


THE BEGINNING OF THE END 277 


strolling round under umbrellas! And then 
think of the costumes and the decorations ! ’’ 
Cheer up, girls,” cried Bess Johnson. 
“ Let’s start along, and to keep up our courage 
we might sing our class songs. Won’t our 
caps and gowns look fine in the morning? ” 

Everybody seemed quite willing to follow 
out Bess’s suggestions, for the rain was fast 
permeating their thin summer clothes, and a 
college campus in the pouring rain between the 
hours of one and five in the morning is not 
the most attractive place in the world to sit, so 
abandoning the single line formation by which 
they had come, they rushed pell mell in the di- 
rection of their rooms singing as they went. 
It’s always fair weather on Class Day.” 

But in spite of their songs and prayers for 
fair weather, when they awoke next morning 
it was raining. Not in gentle little showers, 
but there was a steady driving rain, accom- 
panied by a terrific wind, which had already 
strewn the ground with small branches from 
the trees and threatened damage to the larger 
ones. Not very promising, to be sure, for out 
of-door festivities and summer gowns and 


278 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


hats ! The seniors were heartbroken, and 
with reason, for it was certainly contrary to 
all Ashton traditions of Class Day weather. 
Up to this year it had never been known to be 
so stormy that the outdoor events had to be 
given up; to be sure, there had been cloudy 
mornings or showers during the afternoon, 
but it had always cleared, and the time-hon- 
ored tradition was passed down to the next 
class. Well might the graduating class ask 
what it had done that the weather should thus 
shower down its ingratitude upon them ! 

Every girl in Gamma Chi House was up 
early, for orders had been issued the night 
before that the house was to be cleaned up 
before the arrival of any of the guests, and 
every underclass girl had been appointed to 
some special work. They tried to be brave, 
but it was hard work to keep from looking 
out of doors at the weather and making re- 
marks upon it. Of course they would get 
through the day somehow, but the joy of it 
was spoilt already and the one event to which 
everybody was especially looking forward, — 


THE BEGINNING OF THE END 279 


the presentation of “ La Princesse Lointaine ” 
out-of-doors in the late afternoon and early 
evening, — would have to be given up until 
another day. 

When Anne and Jean came down stairs to 
breakfast in their middy blouses, Lois called 
out to them : ‘‘ What are you going to wear 

to chapel, girls? If we wear our caps and 
gowns, ifs good-bye to them forever. Of 
course we ought to wear them at our last 
chapel, but unless the faculty order automo- 
biles for our transportation, I think it will be 
absolutely foolish. We can't possibly hold 
up umbrellas in this rain." 

‘‘ Why not wear our rubber coats and hats," 
volunteered Anne. ‘‘ It isn’t very dignified 
perhaps, but it’s the only safe way to get up to 
the chapel. We can telephone the dormitories, 
and tell the others and then we’ll all be dressed 
alike, for every one owns a rubber coat. 
What do you say? " 

‘‘ Fine idea, Anne," replied Bess Johnson. 

Better telephone at once, for it’s getting late. 
I expect to hear the bell any minute now. As 


28 o jean CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


soon as you’re through, come into the dining 
room for some breakfast. When are your 
people coming? ” 

I don’t expect any one to-day, Bess, except 
Mother and possibly one or two of her friends, 
but Jean has enough to make up and I’m going 
to help her out.” 

Perhaps they won’t come in this storm,” 
said Jean. “ However, I’m sure some of them 
will. Father and his party were coming over 
on the midnight last night, and they’ll be out 
shortly after chapel. I’ll have to use up most 
of the morning going to the station to get the 
different relays. Such luck! Did you ever 
hear of such weather?” 

“ Hush, Jean ; don’t you begin, or everybody 
else will follow suit. We’ve got to pretend 
we’re the happiest people in the world, whether 
we really are or not.” 

Happy I Why, I am happy, only I’m so 
sorry for all the people who will be disap- 
pointed and perhaps not come.” 

I know one that will come anyway, Jean; 
if that’s any consolation.” 

‘^Oh, do you, Bess? Well, so do I. 


THE BEGINNING OF THE END 281 


Father can always be depended upon, no 
matter what happens.” 

‘‘And Bob, too?” 

“Yes, Bob, too. Miss Inquisitive. Come, 
Anne, breakfast is ready, and everybody else 
seems to have eaten.” 

But just as the girls sat down, the chapel 
bell rang, so they jumped up without having 
eaten a mouthful, and hurried for their rubber 
coats, for it would never do to be late on the 
last morning of chapel, even though they might 
have been guilty of the same offense every 
.other morning of the year. As they were 
about to open the outer door the bell rang. 
Jean opened the door, and found an express- 
man almost hidden from sight behind number- 
less florists’ boxes. She signed the book, and 
then called the seniors to claim their various 
possessions. There were five for Jean, and 
one of them was simply immense. Opening 
it, she found dozen upon dozen of red car- 
nations, and the girls looked at one another, 
and whispered: 

“ Oh, Jean, is it to-day?” 

“You silly girls! Of course it’s to-day; 


282 jean CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


it’s Class Day, isn’t it? But help yourselves; 
there are enough carnations here for us all 
and the tables besides.” 

should think there were, Jean; but do 
you imagine there are any red carnations left 
in Boston — ■ or perhaps they came from Cam- 
bridge? Red is rather suggestive of Har- 
vard, isn’t it?” and Bess began to open one 
of her own boxes. 

“ Don’t stop to put them in water now,” 
said Anne, “ for it will be a perfect disgrace 
to be late,” and she led the little procession out 
of the house, and up the hill to the chapel. It 
was really with difficulty that they finally 
reached it, for the driving rain and wind made 
walking an effort, but once inside the gray 
walls they forgot the weather. This was the 
last time they would ever attend a chapel serv- 
ice together. They might come back as grad- 
uates, but never again could they feel it was 
their own particular service, and they hated 
to give up this rare privilege forever. Per- 
haps it was this feeling that made them sing 
every word of every verse of the hymns, that 
made them read so clearly every word of the 


THE BEGINNING OF THE END 283 


psalm and prayer, that made every eye fill with 
tears as Miss Emerson, in a few short sen- 
tences, bade them good-bye and wished them 
success in whatever phase of life they entered 
upon. As they silently walked down the aisle, 
every girl felt that although she was leaving 
the chapel and Miss Emerson behind her, there 
was something she had got from them both 
that never would leave her, even though the 
future might take her to the uttermost parts of 
the earth. 

Jean and Anne and most of the girls went 
straight to the station, for the morning train 
would bring in the guests who were expected 
for the day. They were sure of their families’ 
coming, because somehow one can always rely 
on fathers and mothers braving all kinds of 
difficulties to see their daughters graduate 
from college, or, for that matter, do anything 
worth while; and there’s no one the daughters 
would rather have see them graduate, for a 
girl is generally prouder of her father and 
mother than any one else in the world. So, 
when the train stopped there were a large num- 
ber of middle-aged men and women who 


284 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


stepped off, with a smattering of the younger 
generation. 

Jean caught sight of her father just alight- 
ing from one of the last cars, and pulling Anne 
by the arm she cried : 

Oh, there's Father and Tom and Mother 
and Connie and the nurses with the babies! 
Just think of Tom and Father both having 
baby girls! Fm pretty proud of them, I can 
tell you. But Anne Cockran, do I believe my 
eyes? That’s Elizabeth Fairfax coming out 
with them! How in the world did they ever 
find her? She wrote she couldn’t possibly get 
here until to-morrow, for the school commit- 
tee didn’t want to let her off even for one day. 
Isn’t it splendid? I don’t care now if all the 
rest of my guests stay away, I’m perfectly 
satisfied with this splendid showing.” 

Oh, Jean, how about the red carnations? 
Wouldn’t it be a shame not to thank that donor 
personally ? ” 

Don’t worry, Anne; I intend to, but he’s 
coming to-night. He couldn’t possibly come 
before, even if it had been pleasant.” 

‘‘ Oh, you blessed family ! ” and Jean was 


THE BEGINNING OF THE END 285 


soon kissing one baby and then the other, until 
the fond fathers insisted that their offspring be 
conducted to a drier place than the station plat- 
form for the remainder of the greetings. 
Then after all were comfortably settled in the 
little station, the two men went out to see what 
could be done in the way of transportation; 
but the few station carriages had been already 
taken, so there was nothing to do but wait for 
their return. Mr. Cabot then conceived the 
brilliant idea of telephoning into Boston for 
the largest automobile to be had, and hiring it 
for the rest of his stay at Ashton. Of course 
it took some time for it to come out in the 
rain, but the little party didn’t seem to mind 
the wait at all; at least the feminine portion 
didn’t, for there was so much to talk over and 
ask about that time flew by unheeded, until, 
with a start, Jean exclaimed: 

“ Why, people, do you know that the chapel 
exercises began ten minutes ago. I wouldn’t 
have believed it was after ten o’clock. Well, 
you’ll have to give that up; that’s all there is 
about it, for you can’t go out in this rain. If 
anything, it’s worse than it was when we 


286 jean CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


started. The auto isn’t in sight yet, so if you 
don’t mind I think we girls ought to start 
along. You can go right to the Inn where 
your rooms are reserved, and as soon as you 
can, come up to the chapel. No danger but 
what there will be plenty of seats to-day. 
But here’s your tickets before I forget it. 
The blue are the yard tickets and the yellow 
the chapel. If you don’t make the exercises 
come up to the house at lunch time, and we’ll 
decide on the rest of the day later, after Miss 
Emerson makes her announcements. All I 
ask is that none of you say one word to me 
all day about the weather. Isn’t much like 
the other Class Day you came to, is it, Tom? 
What a lot has happened to our family since 
then! Good-bye, everybody. Oh, Elizabeth, 
come over to chapel if you possibly can. Bor- 
row somebody’s raincoat at the Inn to put over 
your cap and gown, for of course you’ve got 
to wear one to-day.” 

“ I’ll try to, Jean, but I’m pretty wet now 
and it may take the rest of the morning to dry 
out. I’m just crazy to see you and the house 
and the girls. Mrs. Cabot and I have talked 


THE BEGINNING OF THE END 287 


together ever since we met. Wasn’t it fortu- 
nate she saw me just as I was going through 
the gate at the station? Don’t let me keep 
you another minute, but I do want to talk with 
you so. We’ll have time to-morrow anyway. 
When is Class Supper ? ” 

“To-morrow night in town at the Somer- 
set, and you’re down for one of the toasts. 
I’ve forgotten the subject, but Grace Taylor 
will tell you about it later. Isn’t it a shame 
about Chrissie Newton; she isn’t going to get 
her degree. Well, so long; more later, if I 
ever get a moment.” 

And Jean and Anne struggled up the hill 
again against the driving storm, and entered 
the chapel just as Miss Emerson was an- 
nouncing that the Tree Exercises would be 
held in the gymnasium at two o’clock, and 
that the play would be postponed until the 
following afternoon at five o’clock if pleasant. 
If not, then on the first pleasant day. Every- 
thing else would be carried out as had been 
planned. The morning wore on as though 
it were the pleasantest of days, and the class 
orators and poets delivered their parts to the 


288 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


few scattered guests with as much feeling and 
enthusiasm as though the building were 
crowded to the doors. One felt everywhere 
a brave attempt in the heart of every girl to 
make the best of it, and not let a little thing 
like a storm spoil the one class day of their 
college life. Perhaps the oft-repeated advice 
of Miss Emerson, “ Be ready to meet every 
emergency,” was bearing fruit sooner than she 
expected. 

After the exercises were over Jean hurried 
down to the house and found her whole fam- 
ily, Elizabeth, Anna Robertson and her hus- 
band, Natalie Lawton, and a number of the 
old girls waiting to see her. Most of the 
others had their families and friends, too, so 
luncheon was a merry affair, for every one 
felt like members of the big Gamma Chi fam- 
ily. The rooms were literally abloom with 
the flowers that had been sent to the girls, 
and gave one the impression of being in a 
small conservatory filled with rare blossoms 
and perfumes. 

At two everybody went up to the big gym- 
nasium for the indoor Tree Exercises. It was 


THE BEGINNING OF THE END 289 


crowded, and became very close and warm; 
but the tree oration, the history and the 
prophecy were very clever, and the presenta- 
tion of gifts to the underclasses so funny that 
it sent everybody off into gales of laughter, 
and restored the good humor that might other- 
wise have been lost over wet feet, or white 
dresses smirched in the attempt to reach the 
building. The spreads were served indoors 
instead of on the lawns and piazzas. As 
Polly observed later, “ The one great advan- 
tage of the storm was that there was lots 
more food for the people who did come, and 
for the first time in my life I had enough lob- 
ster salad and ice-cream.’’ 

Shortly after five the rain and the wind 
ceased a little, and the guests decided it was 
the time for their departure, before another 
downpour, so they made a hasty exit, and the 
girls were left to begin preparations for the 
dance. Then for the first time Jean and 
Elizabeth were left to themselves, and they 
went to Jean’s room and talked, just talked, 
to their hearts’ content. Somehow Anne 
knew enough to keep away, for she realized 


290 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 

that as good friends as she and Jean had be- 
come in this last year together, still she had 
never quite been able to take Elizabeth’s place 
in Jean’s heart. But finally she came into the 
room and said: 

‘‘ Why, girls, aren’t you going to get ready 
for the dance? It’s half past seven, and your 
men will be here before you know it. Isn’t 
it splendid Dick can go with you, Elizabeth? 
Jean told me he was coming out with Bob. 
I’ve always wanted to meet your brother, for 
Jean has told me so much about him. Will 
he stay over for Commencement?” 

“No, I wish he might, but he’s going over 
to England on a cattle boat with some of the 
college boys, and starts to-morrow. But I ex- 
pect my father and mother will come down 
Wednesday, and I want you to meet them. 
Have you a dance for Dick to-night? I 
haven’t made out an order, so I’m relying on 
you girls sparing him as many as you can.” 

“Yes, indeed, he can have several if he 
wants them. I saved some out purposely, for 
I’m on the committee, and thought I ought 
to be looking out for things during some of 


THE BEGINNING OF THE END 291 


the dances, but if Dick doesn't mind my cut- 
ting the first half he can have as many as he 
wants. What are you going to wear, Eliza- 
beth? Isn't Jean's dress a dream? I'm' 
crazy to have her get into it. Do let me help 
you, Jean.” 

‘‘All right, Anne, but it's so cozy here I 
hate to think of going out, even to a Class 
Day dance. I guess I'm getting old, but I'd 
much rather stay right here.” 

“ Now, Jean Cabot, don't get into that 
frame of mind. You've simply got to go and 
go early, and stay till the last minute, for 
you’re chairman of the whole thing, and how 
would it look for you to stay at home by your 
twosome, just because you and Bob Bowker 
are — 

“Anne, don't you say another word. I'll 
get ready immediately, and you can hook up 
my dress. Father has offered the automobile 
to all of us to-night, so we'll make use of it, 
and go in relays. We’ll start as soon as Bob 
and Dick arrive, and you and Billy can go 
with us. Tell the other girls to be ready to 
start just as soon as the machine gets back.” 


292 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


Then the girls began to dress and by half 
after eight were ready for the dance. Jean's 
white chiffon, a present from her mother, was 
indeed beautiful, and in her arms she carried 
as many of the red carnations as she could 
hold. She had never been more beautiful 
than when she walked down the stairs to greet 
Bob and Dick; and as Bob took her hand in 
his and murmured, “ Good evening. Lady of 
the Red Carnations," there was much more in 
his heart unexpressed than came from his 
lips, but he knew that his hours of waiting 
were fast drawing to a close, and that in a 
little while he could tell his secret to the whole 
wide world. 

The dance was like all other dances to the 
happy young people, but to two of them at 
least it was the happiest one of their lives. 
And when it was all over, and good-nights 
were being said at the Gamma Chi House, 
Jean felt a little package being tucked into her 
drooping bunch of carnations, and she hurried 
away to her room to discover its contents. 
But she had only time to slip it into her dress- 
ing-table drawer before the room was filled 



She had never been more beautiful than when she walked 
DOWN THE STAIRS TO GREET BOB AND DiCK . — Page 292. 






THE BEGINNING OF THE END 293 


with girls who had come to talk over the won- 
derful dance, and she waited impatiently for 
them to be done — and gone to their rooms. 
At last they departed, and she and Elizabeth 
were left alone, as Anne had decided to spend 
what remained of the night with Polly. But 
not until Elizabeth was in bed fast asleep did 
Jean find the opportunity she had been wait- 
ing for. Softly she put out the electric light 
and lighted a candle. Standing before her 
dresser she opened the little package and saw 
in a tiny white satin box a blazing diamond 
in a platinum setting. And on a little card 
she read: 

‘‘ Good night. My Lady of the Red Carna- 
tions, I’m very, very happy to-night, but after 
the Class Supper I shall be the happiest man in 
the world.” 

And slipping the ring upon the third finger 
of her left hand, Jean blew out the candle 
and crept into bed to try to sleep. 


CHAPTER XIV 


THE END OF IT ALE 

T he long dining-room of the Somer- 
set was filled with the hundred or 
more Ashton seniors on the Satur- 
day evening following Class Day. Class col- 
ors decorated the walls and chandeliers, and 
great bowls of red carnations were on the 
tables, for Lois Underwood, who was on the 
committee of arrangements, had availed her- 
self liberally of Jean’s invitation to help her- 
self to the generous supply of carnations 
which had been sent her. When the roll was 
called, not one girl was missing, for even those 
who already knew they would not receive the 
much coveted sheepskin had come. Was not 
Class Supper the most important event in all 
the festivities, excepting perhaps Commence- 
ment itself? There were no guests and no 
faculty present, for this was a supper solely 
for the survivors of the glorious graduating 
294 


THE END OF IT ALL 


295 


class and for once, they could do as they 
pleased, how they pleased and when they 
pleased. 

Blanche Whitney was master of ceremonies 
and she announced that the first number on 
the programme would be eating, not that she 
felt the girls really needed nourishment, for 
they had been feasted and dined and tea-ed 
for several days past, but as long as that was 
the ostensible reason for their gathering and 
paying several dollars apiece per plate, it 
seemed best to have that part over as quickly 
as possible. However, let it be said in pass- 
ing, that the girls appeared to do full justice 
to everything set before them, and things dis- 
appeared as rapidly as they might have done 
had the girls been hours without food. Then 
came the toasts, and it seemed as though every 
subject, past, present and future, was touched 
upon, and for the last time the glorious 
achievements of their class were heralded 
to the sky. There never was and never could 
be such a class again! Long live its golden 
memories I 

And when the last toast was finished, the 


296 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


last cheer given, the last song ended, Blanche 
announced very slowly and distinctly, 

'‘And now, girls, before we call the Class 
Supper a thing of the past, I have one last 
pleasant duty to perform. I am requested 
by the committee to ask all of the engaged 
girls of this glorious class to rise and run 
three times around the table, in order that we 
may know positively what we have long sus- 
pected, and offer our congratulations in a body 
before that privilege is extended to the world 
at large.” Then she sat down and awaited 
developments. 

First, little Betty Anderson, whom no one 
in the world would have suspected of a love 
affair, arose very timidly and looked around 
the table as though for support from the 
others. There was a clapping of hands, and 
Cynthia Wood and Grace Taylor, room-mates 
in Wellington, arose and joined Betty; they 
were followed by Annettee Lee and Elsie Pem- 
berton, and finally Jean arose from her seat 
and formed the end of the procession. As 
they started to run around the table, — a time- 
honored custom at Ashton, — the rest of the 


THE END OF IT ALL 


297 

girls with one accord jumped to their feet, 
and seizing the carnations at their places, 
threw them as the little procession passed by, 
and broke into, “ For she’s a jolly good fel- 
low.” 

After the third time around the table the 
six girls sank exhausted into their seats, and 
showed their newly acquired diamonds to the 
admiring throng. Speeches were demanded, 
the names of the fortunate victims, when they 
had first met them, how long they had been 
engaged, when they were to be married, where 
they were to live, and all the other endless 
questions that come into silly girls’ heads. 
Each girl told as little or as much as she 
pleased, and when it came Jean’s turn she 
arose and said simply : 

‘‘ I ami very glad to announce my engage- 
ment to Mr. Robert Channing Bowker of 
Cambridge. Further than that I have noth- 
ing to say except that I start September first 
for Leipsic, Germany, to study for two years 
with Professor Leighton in the Conservatory. 
I hope you will all meet Mr. Bowker at Com- 
mencement.” 


298 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


It must be admitted that no one was sur- 
prised at the first part of Jean’s announcement, 
for Bob’s devotion had been too marked to es- 
cape observation; but the second part came 
like a thunderbolt out of a clear sky, for she 
had told this to no one, not even Elizabeth or 
Anne. But more than one of her intimate 
friends said to themselves: 

“ She’ll never do it. It’s a long time before 
the first of September, and I don’t believe any 
man to whom Jean is engaged will let her be 
away from him for any two , years in Ger- 
many.” 

As the girls hastened to offer their con- 
gratulations to the heroines of the occasion, 
it was a general signal for the banquet to 
break up. There was the last train for Ash- 
ton to be caught, and the serenades to be given 
to the Faculty and the newly engaged girls all 
before midnight, for the next day was Sun- 
day, and festivities must cease at the stroke 
of twelve. So there was a mad dash for the 
train, a half hour together on the campus, and 
then the class supper was a thing of the past. 

Next day was Baccalaureate Sunday; on 


THE END OF IT ALL 


299 

Monday came the out-of-door play; Tuesday 
there was nothing to do but rest, and Wednes- 
day morning dawned bright and clear for 
Commencement. All of the underclass girls, 
except a few juniors, who had been asked to 
usher at the exercises or serve at Miss Emer- 
son’s reception, had gone home so that their 
rooms might be given to the guests and the 
“ old girls.-’ The Gamma Chi girls and the 
alumnae were having their breakfast in the 
society house. The wicker furniture had been 
placed on the broad piazzas and under the 
trees, and the sunlight danced merrily on the 
delicate glass and china. This was the origin 
of another tradition, for Jean’s motion had 
just been carried that hereafter every Com- 
mencement morning all the Gamma Chi 
grads, old and young, should have breakfast 
together at the society house. 

It was so pleasant there in the warm sun- 
shine that they almost forgot the more serious 
duties of the day until the old chapel bell be- 
gan to call them to the hill for the Commence- 
ment exercises. The day was simply perfect; 
it seemed as though the weather man were a lit- 


300 jean CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


tie ashamed of his actions on Friday, and was 
trying to make up for them with this beauti- 
ful, balmy day. The grounds were thronged 
with guests and “ old girls ’’ enjoying the 
beauties of the campus. All roads led to the 
chapel, and by ten o’clock it was crowded to 
the doors. Then as the organ pealed out the 
Processional a long line of seniors in cap and 
gown, with their arms full of flowers, pre- 
ceded by the faculty, wended its way through 
the crowd and down the center aisle to the 
front rows of seats. After the faculty had 
taken their places on the platform, the music 
stopped and the seniors sat down and waited 
for the exercises to begin. 

Of course every girl listened most atten- 
tively to the oration of the day, or at least 
had the appearance of so doing, but undoubt- 
edly every one was wondering how long it 
would be before the learned doctor would fin- 
ish and the presentation of the diplomas be- 
gin, for, after all, the most anticipated event 
is to grasp in one’s hand the much coveted 
and long desired sheepskin. At last Miss 
Emerson gave the signal for them to rise and 


THE END OF IT ALL 


301 


introduced the president of the trustees who 
was to award the diplomas and announce the 
honors. After a long preamble he finally was 
ready to consult his lists, and read first the 
elections to Phi Beta Kappa, the honor society 
of the college. Of the eight girls chosen, 
Elizabeth Fairfax was one, and every Gamma 
Chi girl secretly rejoiced with her, for it 
meant that Elizabeth’s work had been for 
three years the best in the whole college. 

Then followed a long list of honors, and 
Jean could hardly believe her ears when she 
heard among the “ cum laudes,” Jean Cabot 
— French. She grasped the rail in front of 
her, and for a moment turned deathly pale. 
To think that she was to receive one of the 
highest honors the college bestowed, she who 
had come to college with no definite purpose 
in mind, but just to please her father and 
brothers. And although she had a certain 
pride in this honor, she felt that she owed a 
great deal to Elizabeth and Tom and Mrs. 
Cabot for the strong influence they had had 
freshman year in giving her the right start 
and in standing by her at the times when she 


302 jean CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


most needed their support. It seemed as 
though she must rush to them now, and thank 
them for what they had done and ask them 
to share this honor with her. But she did not 
even look around at them, and stood staring 
straight ahead, beyond the faculty, beyond the 
trustees, at the stained glass window above the 
organ, and not until Professor Leighton 
struck the opening chords of the march did 
she realize that it was time to go forward and 
receive the diploma from the hands of Miss 
Emerson. Suddenly her mood changed, and 
she found herself smiling back at Miss Emer- 
son, as she felt the thin white roll of parch- 
ment put into her outstretched hands, and she 
came down from the platform quite herself 
again, and, looking out into the audience with 
a hurried glance, caught the smiles of con- 
gratulation from her little family group at the 
right of the center aisle. It was almost all 
over now; all that remained was the marching 
and cheering, the Commencement Dinner, 
Proxy’s reception and then — well, she didn’t 
want to think of the “ then ” just now, for 


THE END OF IT ALL 303 

there were too many other things to occupy 
her mind. 

After the class song the little procession of 
seniors and faculty filed out of the chapel into 
the radiant sunshine, and, preceded by the 
band, started on their last march around the 
campus. All the guests were invited to join 
them, and forming two by two, fell in behind 
the leaders until the ranks were quite eight 
hundred strong. Slowly, for they were loath 
to leave it all, they wound their way in and 
out among the trees, stopping here and there 
where fancy prompted them, for a last view 
of some favorite bit of country, or a cheer for 
one of the college buildings. At last they 
came to the gymnasium, and started slowly 
into the great room, and began to fill the long 
tables which reached from one end of the room 
to the other. When every one of the eight 
hundred guests had found a place, they all sat 
down, and the waiters brought on the steam- 
ing dishes. It seemed to take a long time for 
every one to satisfy the '‘pangs of hunger,'' 
but finally Miss Emerson rapped on the table 


304 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


for silence, and introduced one after another 
of successful alumnae, who sang the praises 
of noble Ashton and acknowledged how much 
they owed to their Alma Mater. Then when 
the last one had finished. Miss Emerson made 
several announcements relative to financial 
matters and concluded by saying: 

^^And now, friends and alumnae of Ash- 
ton College, I have a last announcement which 
fills me with the greatest joy. The Gamma 
Chi society during the past year has raised 
five hundred dollars which they offer to the 
college with the suggestion that it be used as 
a scholarship during the coming year. To my 
knowledge it is the first time any girls here 
have done such a thing, and we wish our ap- 
preciation to be shown them for the generous 
motives which have prompted such an action. 
They have made no suggestions as to how the 
fund shall be bestowed, so the faculty and the 
trustees have taken that matter into their own 
hands. One of their own society who re- 
ceived her degree to-day finished the required 
work in three years instead of four, and dur- 
ing the past year has worked hard and faith- 


THE END OF IT ALL 


305 


fully in an academy near her own home. We 
have known that she wished to continue her 
studies and obtain her master’s degree, so, in 
consideration of this and her most excellent 
character and standing, we offer the sum of 
five hundred dollars to Miss Elizabeth Frances 
Fairfax, and in addition to the scholarship, 
extend to her the invitation to assist in the 
history department during the next college 
year.” 

As Miss Emerson, sat down, the old build- 
ing echoed and reechoed with cheers and the 
clapping of hands. If one had been watching 
the Cabot family, she might have seen Mr. 
Cabot whispering earnestly to his wife. In a 
moment she rose to her feet, and said in a 
trembling voice, ‘‘ Madam President, may I 
add just a few words to your splendid speech? 
If the faculty and trustees will accept the 
same, I wish to offer each year, as long as I 
shall live, five hundred dollars to be called the 
' Gamma Chi Scholarship,’ to be bestowed upon 
some worthy girl who is working for her mas- 
ter’s degree. It is not necessarily to be given 
to a Gamma Chi girl, unless, as in the case to- 


3o6 jean CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


day, she especially deserves it. Thank you,’’ 
and she sat down, amid deafening applause. 
Of course Miss Emerson was only too glad 
to accept such a generous offer, and replied 
for the trustees and faculty in her usual pleas- 
ing manner, and concluded by inviting every- 
body to her annual Commencement reception 
from four to six o’clock in her home on the 
Row. 

Nearly all availed themselves of the op- 
portunity, for it was a pleasure to be in the 
quaint little English house with its charming 
air of cheer and hospitality. The crowds 
gradually wended their way there, stopping 
now and then for friendly handshakes, or re- 
newing acquaintances, or visiting dormitories 
and society rooms. Miss Emerson had in- 
sisted that Mrs. Cabot stand in the receiving 
line, for a good many of the old girls who were 
back wanted to see her more closely than the 
Commencement Dinner had allowed, so with 
the president of the alumnse and the president 
of the senior class, she and Miss Emerson took 
their places, and stood for several hours greet- 
ing old friends and new. Whenever one of 


THE END OF IT ALL 


307 


the girls, and most of them did, asked about 
the new baby, Mrs. Cabot would smile and re- 
ply that she was upstairs, adding that if they 
wished, they might go up into Miss Emerson’s 
room and see her. Every girl went, and as 
they entered the room, they generally saw the 
baby sitting on the floor throwing blocks at 
her fond father or the nursemaid, and they 
stayed to admire as long as time and space al- 
lowed. And pleased as the girls were to greet 
Mrs. Cabot again, it must be whispered that 
most of them seemed even more so to see her 
charming daughter, a prospective Ashton 
student. Jean was very proud of her new sis- 
ter, too, and hovered around as much as she 
could, but being in charge of the refreshments 
and servers downstairs, she felt it necessary 
to spend most of her time there; although in- 
wardly she begrudged every moment that took 
her away from her family. 

For now the Day of Days was almost over; 
in a few hours the family were to start back 
to New York, where they were to stay with 
Tom until the first of July, and then start for 
Long Island, where he had just built a sum- 


3o8 jean CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 

mer bungalow. Tom had invited her, too, 
but all her plans were made for the summer 
in Maine, and the only time she would have 
with her family would be the few days before 
the boat sailed in September. 

Soon the last guest had said good-bye, and 
the Cabots and Miss Emerson and her inti- 
mate friends were left to themselves. Just as 
they were settling down to peace and quiet, 
Tom came rushing in, and announced that he 
had received a telegram from New York which 
would necessitate his taking the evening train 
instead of the early one next morning as they 
had originally planned. He suggested that the 
others accompany him, and after much delib- 
eration they decided to do so, and hastened to 
the Inn to make preparations. When they 
were all ready Jean and Bob went in town with 
them, and as Elizabeth was going about the 
same time she also made one of the party. It 
was hard to say good-bye, but the thought of 
a meeting at the end of the summer cheered 
things up a little. After the long train had 
disappeared from sight Jean and Bob went 
back to the hill, but considerate Bob left early 


THE END OF IT ALL 


309 


though perhaps reluctantly, because he knew 
how tired Jean was after all the excitement 
and hurry of the week. 

Next morning Jean was up very early, for 
there was the packing to be done and all the 
last things to be attended to. Anne and Rosa- 
lie, Bess and Lois were to leave that afternoon 
with Cousin Nan Robertson for the summer 
in Maine, but Polly and she were to join them 
the following Monday. Polly had been per- 
suaded to join a Junior week-end party at 
Gloucester the day before, and Jean was to 
remain over for Harvard Class Day and the 
attendant festivities. Bob’s mother, who had 
been spending the winter in Cambridge to be 
near her son, had invited Jean to be her guest 
until Monday, and it had not taken much coax- 
ing to persuade her to accept. She helped 
everybody else pack, and left her own work 
till the last, for she declared she would rather 
come back and do it after the others left. By 
one o’clock the last trunk was locked and 
strapped, and the girls hurried for the train, 
and as usual, caught it at the last minute. 
Mrs. Robertson met them at the North Sta- 


310 jean CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


tion, and they soon boarded the Portland 
train. Jean stood outside their car and lis- 
tened to all the final directions about how and 
when to get to Belmont Center, and promised 
to do so many things for everybody that she 
could not have done them all if she had taken 
all summer. Then the whistle blew, the long 
train started, and she stood and waved her 
hand until it was out of sight. 

Turning she was surprised to find herself 
face to face with Bob. 

Why, Bob, I didn’t expect to see you until 
to-night. How. did you happen to get off? 
I thought you had lectures all the afternoon.” 

‘‘ I did, but a pressing business engagement 
called me in town, and I couldn’t resist com- 
ing down to the station to see the girls off.” 

“ Well, you didn’t see them off, after all, 
did you? Too bad you couldn’t get here 
sooner.” 

'' Oh, I’ve been here some time, but I’m per- 
fectly satisfied to see one girl off for Cam- 
^ bridge, for I’ve come to take you to the game. 
We can see the last innings, anyway, even if 
we do miss the first of it.” 


THE END OF IT ALL 


311 

‘‘ But my packing, Bob, when will it be 
done?’’ 

‘‘ Never mind about that, dear; Mother and 
I’ll go over to-night and help you. We can’t 
miss the most exciting game of the year for a 
little thing like packing.” 

‘‘ But I’m not dressed for a game. I had 
to hurry so at the last minute with Anne’s trunk 
that I didn’t have time to change my dress.” 

“ You look well enough to suit me, Jean, 
and as I’m the only one to be considered these 
days, you needn’t worry about it. Let’s hurry, 
and get the Cambridge subway.” 

So they went to the game, and, true to his 
promise, Bob and his mother did go out to 
Ashton that evening and helped Jean pack. 
Then all went back again to Cambridge, where 
Jean enjoyed every minute of the gayeties that 
centered round the historic yard in the next 
three days. On their last evening together she 
and Bob were strolling slowly back and forth 
in the quaint little rose garden at one side of 
Mrs. Bowker’s house, watching the moon as it 
gradually rose high in the sky. It was almost 
time for good-byes to be said ; there would be 


312 JEAN CABOT IN CAP AND GOWN 


no time for them in the morning, as an early 
start must be made. 

Jean was saying, “ Bob, do you suppose you 
can come down to Belmont this summer? 
We’d love to have you come.” 

“ To be sure, Jean, but you know I’m to be 
very busy all of July with the summer courses, 
and I can’t get away then. It’ll have to be 
sometime in August, but I’ll make it as near 
the first as possible. Do you suppose by that 
time the girls can spare you to come over to 
Boothbay with Mother and me? If I run off 
with you, they can’t say anything, can they? ” 

“ But you wouldn’t do that. Bob? ” 

Well, I won’t promise what I’ll do. Wait 
and see. Wait and see.” 

Jean must wait, but both she and her girl 
friends would have been very greatly surprised 
could they have foreseen what actually would 
occur within a few months, replete with inci- 
dents, as will be shown in the concluding vol- 
ume of this series, Jean Cabot at the House 
with the Blue Shutters.” 


THE END 


V 





''.tK ' •- 


»>« :A- ' ' 

■ .V.S(iil^ i «£'. fly, 

• •5’® '/.• 


mj 


Si 




»> ';M- ' • 

,,. >^*-o V 

.X* 


F.V 


,§ra y. 


A- ^ 


i^-‘: 


-"j . • 


■. ry,'^’ 




ii 



4 

4 , , 1 • ^ ‘nr • • ** : 

■(.'V . •^''^- ''■'J^<'v • 


' V (/’ ■' 


y ^ 

: "+#j r: 


r'f. 


t ti 


-* *1 


-* .4 






r «^%rv. -^J, 


^t 3 ?. 


■' <' k: ~ ■ ■ 

■'‘' ’-■' ■' .' t 

•V. - ^ '1 . ' , , ,' 

S('' 


. -«! 


n'l r. 


A 

j 



'/m 


f '■’ 

*• .•' 


V.: 1^ 




''Nl ■! • 


X^' 

V. 




■» / 




^ '# ^V ' 


» .*. 


» . 


hJ 


} » 




• .Iw 






>i ^ 




a'. •^’■'T x-\ >’* . 'i-i Vr !>'- ^ k‘* . ' '• ' 

^ 1 /*."o *'■ •' ' ‘j/’ ■ • ' ,. 

•* * ’i ■* • " r 'I'j 



R^V/ri ."4^ 


u>; 






-f 




"tf. 


<r-. 


:vK< 





jf*-- vir 


<M. 




r/*: 








4* V* 




J.rinjf 


»\. 


", J_ 


1 


t .:v 


.A •.< 


t^/ 















